Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

Note Générale:

5,6/10   

Réalisateur:

Shawn Levy

Scénaristes (WGA):

Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. (novel) and
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (novel) ...

Date de sortie:

25 décembre 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedie | Famille

Accroche:

This Christmas The More... The Scarier!

Intrigue:

With his wife doing a book tour, a father of twelve must handle a new job and his unstable brood.

Plot Keywords:

New Job | House | Illinois | Snake | Mud Mask

Récompenses:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

'Name Only' Remake of 1950 Classic is Warm, Funny Film...

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	2:00 PM	TBS
Mon. Nov. 16	2:30 AM	TBS

Ensemble

Steve Martin	...	Tom Baker
Bonnie Hunt	...	Kate Baker
Piper Perabo	...	Nora Baker
Tom Welling	...	Charlie Baker
Hilary Duff	...	Lorraine Baker
Kevin G. Schmidt	...	Henry Baker
Alyson Stoner	...	Sarah Baker
Jacob Smith	...	Jake Baker
Liliana Mumy	...	Jessica Baker
Morgan York	...	Kim Baker
Forrest Landis	...	Mark Baker
Blake Woodruff	...	Mike Baker
Brent Kinsman	...	Nigel Baker
Shane Kinsman	...	Kyle Baker
Paula Marshall	...	Tina Shenk

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some thematic elements.

Durée:

98 min | Germany:94 min (DVD version)

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Classification:

USA:PG (certificate #40326) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Brazil:Livre | Portugal:M/6 | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:Tous | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:5 | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Lieux de tournage:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Société:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Anecdotes:

The actual family did not have any twins. All the children were single births and the father regretted this because he felt multiple births to be more efficient.

Goofs:

Continuité: When Kate hugs Mark at the train station, her sunglasses fall off the top of her head, but in the next shot her glasses are neatly back up on her head.

Guillemet:

[last lines]
Kate: [voiceover] I guess you could say that when Tom and I left Midland we had a mess of theories about how to raise children. We still have a mess of children, but no theories. Sure, 12 is still our number. It's the number of months my book was on the bestseller list. It's the number of job offers Tom turned down before we found one close to home. And each day it's the number of times I'm thankful there's such a thing as family.

Connexions:

Référencé sur Hollywood Flies (2004) (TV)

Bande son:

Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: 'O Fortuna' from Carmina Burana

'Name Only' Remake of 1950 Classic is Warm, Funny Film...

While the CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN opening titles credit the authors of the best-selling book the original 1950 film was based on (Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey), don't expect to see a remake of the charming, early-20th century comedy about two efficiency experts (Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy) running a complex but happy family...and this is not a BAD thing!

While the 1950 production is a minor classic, the thrust of the earlier film was with the parents, and oldest daughter (the late Jeanne Crain). Clifton Webb was a gifted, acerbic actor, best known, previously, as 'child hating' author Lynn Belvedere, who proved he was as adept at raising children as he was at EVERYTHING he attempted, in the 1948 hit, SITTING PRETTY. The film was such a success that two sequels were made, and Webb would do several more 'family' comedies before his death in 1966. Playing Frank Bunker Gilbreth, the father of twelve, was a 'natural' for the actor, and the 61-year old Webb 'stole' the film with his self-effacing, 'scientific' approach to child rearing. As his wife, Lillian, Myrna Loy, who had graduated from being 'Nora Charles' in the "Thin Man" series, to being Hollywood's favorite wife/mom, shared Bonnie Hunt's sweetness, sense of organization, and dry humor, but lacked a sexual chemistry with Webb that would have actually produced twelve children (perhaps because of the less 'permissive' time the film was made, or perhaps because of Webb's screen persona). Jeanne Crain, one of 20th Century Fox's favorite ingénues for over six years, had a large fan base, which the studio capitalized on (She was actually second-billed in the film, behind Webb). Her scene at a 1920's prom, with Webb as her 'date', is a film highlight. While the eleven other children were given 'moments' in the film, they barely registered, individually.

Would 2003 audiences have gone to see Martin in a period comedy set eighty years earlier? I doubt it. And had the original story had been simply 'updated', would it have been truly faithful to the source, even in spirit? Unlikely, as so much has changed over the years. Ultimately, the film makers erred, I believe, in using the title of the earlier film, but not in the approach of making a 'family-friendly' comedy about a household of massive proportions.

With Steve Martin, who has become Hollywood's quintessential 'Dad', as a loving, unconventional father/football coach given an opportunity to head his alma mater's team, he displays the same kind of sensitivity that made PARENTHOOD such a wonderful film. Bonnie Hunt, as his wife, is completely believable as a successful author who could handle her large family and still-frisky husband equally well. She is, as always, a treasure!

The children are really the stars of the film, though, and each is special, and individual, from the eldest daughter (Piper Perabo), who, at 22, wants the family to accept the guy she's living with (Ashton Kutcher, in a funny, brief role), to the youngest pair of twins (Brent and Shane Kinsman), who make an art out of wreaking havoc. Tom Welling is quite likable, and proves that he is more than just 'Clark Kent' (For you trivia fans, Kutcher almost got the part of 'Superman' in an upcoming film, which would have put two 'Men of Steel' in the cast). The only discordant note is Hillary Duff's annoyingly brittle second daughter; she may be a 'teen idol', but she is more grating than endearing.

Director Shawn Levy's previous film, JUST MARRIED, was a loud, unpleasant, clichéd bore; in CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, he redeems himself with a more enjoyable, richer film.

While the movie will never earn the 'classic' status the earlier film achieved, it stands very well on it's own merits!