Movie Review # 520: Cheaper By The Dozen (2003)

And now, we are going to be diving into a somewhat older film that will be reaching it’s 20th anniversary, come December 2023. Today’s review stars a certain actor that has starred in movies for, apparently, quite a few decades. He starred in films like Sgt. Bilko, the Father Of The Bride films, Bringing Down The House, and Planes, Trains, & Automobiles to name a few. However, the film that he starred in, and that we are talking about today shall be one of a few films that he starred in, and were all released in 2003. In this case, it shall be the one, and only, Cheaper By The Dozen.

Plot: Tom Baker (Steve Martin) is a college football coach who lives in Midland, Illinois, with his wife, Kate (Bonnie Hunt), and their twelve kids. One day, his old buddy, Shake McGuire (Richard Jenkins) offers him a college football job in Evanston, Illinois, causing the family to make the reluctant move to that location, life begins to go haywire for the Baker family. Now, the question remains, will the Bakers still be glad to have made the move in the end, it will they come to regret not staying in Midland, Illinois?

Now, allow me to start things off by saying that I’m sure many of us can agree that a lot of films that Steve Martin’s been in, whether they be PG, or PG-13, rated, or even R-rated films have seemed to have a very adult appeal. Cheaper By The Dozen, which is rated PG, is no exception. First off, the movie does well at showing how difficult it can be to navigate through the hardships of life. Not only that, but Cheaper By The Dozen does great at showing the walks of life not only from the parent’s perspective, but also from the perspectives of the twelve Baker kids. Sure, some of the kids are more developed than others. Still, the whole family is most definitely memorable. No doubt would one want to hang out with the Baker family more than once. Not only is Steven Martin a delight, as well as brings out some of the best lines in the film, but Bonnie Hunt is great, as well as the rest of the cast. In addition to them, you have Hillary Duff (whom, I’m sure many of us may know for being in the Lizzie McGuire show, as well as The Lizzie McGuire Movie), Piper Perabo, Tom Welling, Ashton Kutcher (who, of course was more popular as an actor in the 2000s), and quite a few others. Let me tell you, when these people are acting onscreen, you can sense this feel of raw emotion from beginning to end. Oh, and not only is this film funny because of Steve Martin’s comedic lines, but also this film ends up being really funny from beginning to end. What’s even more interesting is that, much like the Christian film, Courageous (which was released eight years after this film), Cheaper By The Dozen does well with balancing out the comedy with drama. What’s more is that Christophe Beck’s score is phenomenal particularly when the dramatic moments in this film occur. Additionally, Cheaper By The Dozen does well with tackling issues like loss, happiness, sadness, being honest with oneself, truly looking out for the needs of others, and things like that. Truly, because of all this, not only do young kids need to give this film more attention, but even more teens, and adults need to watch this film as well. Basically, this is one of those PG-rated films that people of all ages will love. Finally, the messages, which I briefly touched upon a moment ago, are also amazing.

And that concludes my review for the 20th Century Fox film, Cheaper By The Dozen. Wow, without a doubt, this is a film that you’ll find yourself wanting to watch at least once, maybe even multiple times after that. The film is well paced, a good majority of the characters stand out, it’s funny, and the film does a fantastic job of portraying life. If you have never seen Cheaper By The Dozen, please make a point to do so. You’ll probably realize how much of a possible hidden gem you missed out on afterwards.

Final Grade: A+