Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)

I love this movie so much

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

As a lover for the original I had to go and see this one and to be honest its actually really good,actually better than the 1st movie.In this installment Tom and his wife and kids go off and spend some time together out in a cabin as part of their holidays but when Tom meets his former buddy and his new wife(played by Eugene Levy and Carmen Electra hey that is such a weird combo eh)the two go head to head in a family day tournament to see who's better. Of course one of Tom's daughters falls for Taylor Lautner's charcther and she asks Hilary Duff's Lorraine to help her win him over. Also Tom Welling's charcther falls in love too with Levy's on screen daughter,but hey its all good.I've been a fan of Steve Martin's since his Father Of The Bride days and I really liked him in this along with Bonnie Hunt.Overall if your not a fan of violence and likes to chill out and watch a good family movie then check out Cheaper By The Dozen II

I watched the 2003 version of "Cheaper by the Dozen" earlier this month, unfamiliar with the book and the original 1950 film adaptation, and was not impressed. I thought it was definitely no more than average, and the only reason why I watched this sequel to the 2003 remake isn't going to mean anything to most people, but it was because of some of the Ontario, Canada filming locations I had read about. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be any better than its predecessor. However, even though one can usually expect sequels to be inferior, I also wasn't expecting "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" to be much worse than the 2003 release. I thought it would be basically mediocre, but I was sorely mistaken, as it actually turned out to be even worse than the first of the two! Tom and Kate Baker are still living with their twelve offspring in Chicago, but things can't stay the same forever. Lorraine is graduating from high school and plans to move to New York. Also, Nora is now pregnant and married to Bud McNulty, who has recently gotten a job offer in Houston, so the couple plans to move there. With these changes happening, the Baker parents decide to look through an old photo album, and Tom is reminded of Lake Winnetka, an old vacation spot for the family, and his old rival there, Jimmy Murtaugh, a man with eight kids. Tom thinks the whole family should go back to Lake Winnetka for one last summer vacation together before the departure of Lorraine and Nora, and soon convinces all of them to come on this trip. After arriving at the campground, they soon meet Jimmy again, who is with his eight kids and new wife, Sarina. Even though Tom said that the purpose of this trip was not to compete with the Murtaughs again, more competition soon begins! Just like its predecessor, this sequel has an unsatisfactory opening narration from Bonnie Hunt as Kate Baker. After this, the film is consistently unfunny and boring, with mediocre gags and a dull story. As the family heads for Lake Winnetka, we see some beautiful shots of rural scenery, but then we immediately see the family in the car, with a couple of the kids complaining about flatulence. The film continues to be basically mediocre and unfunny for a long time. It does have some nice lake and forest scenery, some of which was filmed at the Rockwood Conservation Area, where I have camped and gone swimming several times in my life, and watching this "Cheaper by the Dozen" sequel certainly brought back camping memories, but this was not quite enough to make up for the absence of the laughs. I thought maybe at least Eugene Levy would be funny as Jimmy Murtaugh, but he's not. It seems this character's wife, Sarina, is also supposed to be funny, but is far from it. I guess this is no surprise, since she's played by Carmen Electra, who has since appeared in "Epic Movie", the biggest train wreck of a comedy I've ever seen, as well as three other Jason Friedberg/Aaron Seltzer fiascos, which I haven't seen and hope I never do! After a while, "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" gets worse than just mediocre. The story gets way too stupid with Tom and Jimmy's ridiculous rivalry, and it's just a very poorly written and horribly clichéd story! This was released the year before "Deck the Halls", and although these films are set during different times of the year, they have a lot in common. Both are almost completely straight-faced "comedies" with a stupid plot about an absurd rivalry between two stupid fathers/husbands which causes trouble for both families. Not only are they not funny, it seems they are supposed to be intelligent and meaningful, but since the plot is so stupid and you don't care what the two childish competitors may learn, that doesn't matter. Basically, "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" is just a poorly thought out film that shouldn't have been made, and I fail to see how it's so much better than "Deck the Halls", even though it seems to be slightly more popular! The only time I laughed at all while watching this miserable excuse for a film was Tom demonstrating to Jimmy the way young couples cuddle in movie theatres. If you want a fun family comedy instead of a cheap cash-in (which I think this is), I strongly suggest you avoid this flick, whether you live anywhere near and/or have been to any of the filming locations or not!

The first film was a near good return for the lead actor, and this sequel from director Adam Shankman (The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House) is no different to its predecessor. Basically Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and wife Kate (Jumanji's Bonnie Hunt) feel they are losing some of their (older) kids as they get ready to leave for their own lives, e.g daughter Nora (Piper Perabo), now married to Bud McNulty (Jonathan Bennett) and expecting a baby, Lorraine (Razzie nominated Hilary Duff) is getting ready to go to New York for an internship with Vogue, and son Charlie (Smallville's Tom Welling) is leaving (I think for college or whatever). So Tom thinks it would be a good idea if he and Kate take all twelve kids on a camping vacation, and would have been perfect if Tom wasn't in an old rivalry with ultra-competitive neighbour Jimmy Murtaugh (American Pie's Razzie nominated Eugene Levy), with wife Sarina (Carmen Electra) and their eight kids. It is obviously when trying to make themselves look better, or trying to the make the Murtaugh's look foolish where all the disaster comes from, so Tom and Jimmy decide to settle it once and for all in a family sports day, and thank goodness both families can't beat each other when daughter Nora has her water break. Also starring Sin City's Jaime King as Anne Murtaugh, Taylor Lautner as Eliot Murtaugh, Alyson Stoner as Sarah Baker, Small Soldiers' Jacob Smith as Jake Baker, Liliana Mumy as Jessica Baker, Morgan York as Kim Baker, Kevin G. Schmidt as Henry Baker, Forrest Landis as Mark Baker, Brent and Shane Kinsman as twins Nigel and Kyle Baker, Blake Woodruff as Mike Baker, Alexander Conti as Kenneth Murtaugh, Melanie Tonello as Becky Murtaugh, Robbie Amell as Daniel Murtaugh, Courtney Fitzpatrick as Lisa Murtaugh, Madison Fitzpatrick as Robin Murtaugh and Shawn Roberts as Calvin Murtaugh. I think this is worth seeing for the funny chaotic events of young children, and Martin and Levy having their disagreements. Okay!

I am a big fan of Steve Martin and Eugene Levy,but I did not enjoy in this movie.Because it is a bit too-light hearted for me,and I expected some really funny jokes but I did get that.It is not a comedy it is a predictable family movie which is good for kids.Because all the kids aged 8 that I know enjoyed in this movie.I am a big fan of Eugene Levy,he and Martin Lawrence are my favourite comedy actors,but this role wasn't good for him.He and Steve Martin are great actors,but they can't save this movie for me because i am not a fan of these kind of family movies.This is a movie for kids,i repeat once again,and I would like to say that I am looking forward to new Eugene Levy's films because I hope that they will be much much better then this family educational(for kids) movie.