Cheaper By The Dozen

Comedy, Drama, Family

Hilary Duff	Lorraine Baker
Bonnie Hunt	Kate Baker
Steve Martin	Tom Baker
Brent Kinsman	Nigel Baker
Piper Perabo	Nora Baker
Kevin Schmidt	Henry Baker
Jacob Smith	Jake Baker
Alyson Stoner	Sarah Baker
Tom Welling	Charlie Baker
Morgan York	Kim Baker

Director	Shawn Levy; Adam Shankman
Producer	Michael Barnathan; Ben Myron; Robert Simonds; Shawn Levy
Writer	Joel Cohen; Sam Harper

Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt corral a wild herd of rampaging children in Cheaper by the Dozen, an enjoyable family flick. When Kate Baker (Hunt, Jerry Maguire) gets a book deal for her chronicle of their abundant family life, she also gets drawn into a book tour--leaving Tom (Martin, Bringing Down the House, The Jerk) to run the house and cope with his new, high-pressure job as a football coach. Naturally, chaos erupts, bringing the family to the brink of meltdown. Cheaper by the Dozen is not a great movie or an important movie or even a surprising movie, but it is a warm-hearted crowd-pleaser. The Bakers' family life is a bit idealized and antiseptic, but anyone looking for an escape from their own less-ideal family lives won't mind. Also featuring Tom Welling, Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, and an uncredited Ashton Kutcher. --Bret Fetzer