:: Cheaper By The Dozen

Based on a real life story and novel written by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth, Cheaper By The Dozen was first made into a feature film in the 1950. The 2003 version stars Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt as the parents of twelve kids, uprooted from their country town to the big smoke when big careers come calling.

Steve Martin reprises his role as the loving but overwhelmed father that he perfected in Parenthood, though this is very much the G rated version. Much of the comedy in this film relies on pratfalls, food fights and chaos whilst story, logic and believability go out the window. The city is painted as all bad, filled with bullies, uptight yuppies and career driven workaholics, whereas life in the country was ideal. The central dilemma of the parents, career versus children, is hard to empathise with when all I wanted to do was yell at these spoilt brats to stop their whingeing and let their parents have a life. Particularly the older kids, who in reality would be quite happy to have their folks leave them alone for a while.

All the child types are represented, the misfit, the rebel, the smart one, the pretty one, but with a dozen to deal with, their characters are only vaguely sketched out. Most of the younger kids are a blur in the background, but Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) plays the oldest daughter, who has left home to move in with her boyfriend, technically making it eleven kids in the house, but a dozen sounds better. Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire) plays the requisite beauty queen in the family and Tom Welling (Smallville) plays the oldest and grumpiest son.

Shawn Levy, who directed Just Married, roped Ashton Kutcher in for an uncredited cameo, and his are some of the funnier scenes. On the whole, this is a slight, basically enjoyable film that the kids will love and the parents might get a couple of grins out of. A good holiday film for the family. And stay tuned for the credits, which feature some amusing outtakes.