Note: The
following refers to a viewing of this film at a sneak preview on
December 21st. It will be widely released on the 25th.
Comedy is a
tricky art to master. In order to succeed in making the audience laugh,
one must be open about their self, and allow the audience to understand
them, in many ways. Cheaper by the Dozen has nearly fifteen
characters, who share an equal amount of screen-time. The filmmakers
desperately want us to laugh, but we’re not able to. Every personality
in the cast is left undeveloped; since we barely even know their names,
how could they be funny? However, director Shawn Levy can be
credited for creating an hour and forty minute long, enjoyable, if not
entirely disposable, piece of fluff. This ought to be worth something.
The story centers
around the Baker family, which is comprised of the mother Kate (Bonnie
Hunt), the father Tom (Steve Martin), and their twelve children. They
live in the country, and despite their cramped lifestyle, they manage to
get by just fine. However, when Tom is offered a higher paying and more
prestigious football-coaching job in Chicago, and the family is forced to move, the kids
are unhappy. In addition to this, Kate is busy trying to promote her new
book that’s based on the family’s life-experiences, which requires her to
travel for two week’s time. With only Tom and the eldest sibling, Nora
(Piper Perabo), to take care of the lively bunch, the lives of the
members in the Baker family become quite crazy. Fighting, rambunctious playing, and chaos
ensue.
I can guarantee you
that, when I was a five-year-old, I would’ve loved this movie. It’s
bright and cheery, animatedly overemphatic in every way, shape, and
form. But, back then, there were a handful of movies, in a little series
called Home Alone, that were much better than this one. In
Home Alone, I liked the little, ingenious hero, and I wanted him to
succeed in executing his creative little plans. In this movie, I could
care less about the characters and their exhausting schemes, which
almost seem mean-spirited. Every kid can identify with Cheaper by the
Dozen, but I’m not so sure that that’s a good thing. All that it
contains is a warped view of life; in the end, our team of twelve is
ultimately rewarded for doing wrong. Sure, it’s emphasized that this was
caused by the two parents, but it isn’t nearly enough to change the
underlying meaning. These signs of failure all point to the absence of
character development, because we don’t understand the emotions of the
kids enough to root for them.
Ironically, I couldn’t
have been happier sitting in the theatre, gazing at the screen, sipping
my ultra-large cup of Coke. I was able to look past all of its flaws and
sinuous intentions. Sometimes it’s sweet to watch the family of fourteen
that Craig Titley creates for us, even if the children aren’t exactly a
treat to be in the presence of. If I had cared for them, then perhaps I
would’ve been able to recommend the movie. It’s a tad disheartening to
not be able to do so.
