User Reviews

With the first film being a hit you can imagine that 20th Century Fox couldn't move fast enough to make a sequel before all the kids grew up.

Perhaps not as good as the first, but certainly still a lot of fun, with the Steve Martin vs Eugene Levy element working well.

It's a little bit thin in places, and you can tell that Hillary Duff and Tom Welling weren't around as much as it appears, but on the whole this is a typically decent sequel.

Obviously time ran out and they couldn't make a third, perhaps it's best.

I guess it's been a long time since Steve played the banjo on the Muppet Show. I have really enjoyed some of Steve's movies..."Roxanne", "Being There", etc. but he seems to have lost his touch in this one.

This movie is still very watchable mind you, but the "former" Steve is missing. It seems there were too many gags (ie; dog & crotch, dangling from balcony) and not enough real comedy like we're used to from Steve (such as the nose jokes in Roxanne).

Also this movie has nothing to do with the 1950 "Cheaper by the Dozen" (or it's original sequel "Belles on Their Toes")...other than 12 kids of course. It seemed more akin to "The Great Outdoors" or "Meatballs".

There were some cute scenes however: The two kids crush & the dads both spying on them in the theatre, and nearly giving birth in a canoe I found amusing. It would have been a lot more amusing had she actually given birth in the canoe though.

Oddly my favourite actress in this was the little girl (can't remember her name right now) who had the crush on the little boy. She was really cute and engaging. I hope she appears in more movies.

Thankfully, I did not pay money to see this (thanks to the wonders of bittorrent) But I will definitely be buying the DVD. It is a good family movie, just not up to my expectations for Steve Martin.

Possibly I should not endorse downloading, but movie-going is difficult where I live as it entails a long, costly ferry trip. Otherwise I probably would have seen this in a theatre.

My Take: Trite, predictable family diversion.

After having dismissing it as a simple-minded family picture for many times, I gave CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, a very loose adaptation of a novel by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, a try and it turned out to be a surprise delight. It wasn't perfect, maybe not even formula, but I was delighted by it. It was a lot of fun and it never seemed to run our of energy, especially for the always funny Steve Martin. Martin is back in this sequel, and so is much of the same cast, Bonnie Hunt in particular. Joining the original cast is a new set of players including American PIE regular Eugene Levy, parody-movie regular Carmen Electra and another batch of kids and teens. This is CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2, and if I was wrong about the first film, I was more wrong to think this one will be better.

In this sequel, the family that couldn't get along leaves all their indifference behind a long time ago. Now their one big, happy family. While going on a camping vacation (as usual, they have to live inside a rotten, old cabin), they get into some competition with dad Tom Baker's (Martin) old rival Jimmy Murtaugh (Levy) and his family, composed of sexy wife Sarina (Electra) and eight children. See Murtaugh is athletic and daring while Tom only wishes that his kids (jealous as always) would have a better vacation. So on goes a series of challenges and competitions they go through, fighting for who gets the better summer this year.

Unfortunately, it might have not been the audience. Having missed it on the big screen, I caught CHEAPER 2 on TV and, since I wasn't really anticipating anything (a sequel to CHEAPER is nothing big to get excited about). That probably helps to be able to enjoy a movie like this. But while lowering your expectations might help at being kind to your response to it, that doesn't necessarily mean liking it. Martin and Levy (funny men, by the way) are at their best efforts, as Hunt playing responsible mother Kate, but they can't shine in a script than limits what they can do. Kids, as usual, will drag you to the video store to rent or buy it, and maybe you should. But don't be surprised if you won't like it. It really isn't made for you.

Rating: ** out of 5.

Cheaper by the Dozen II, like most sequels, wasn't as good as its predecessor but was a safe movie bet, allowing you to fall back into a familiarity of the first and have some more fun with it. It picks up a couple years after the first installment with changes abound as the oldest daughter is now married and pregnant and with everyone growing up, the Bakers plan to vacation one last time at their old summer nesting grounds before sending off newly graduated Lurraine (Hillary Duff) to New York. Ashton Kutcher's out of the picture, while Eugene Levy enters the scene as Steve Martin's rival, providing some decent comic relief. Knowing full-well, they can't focus on all twelve kids, Tom Welling's newfound romance and rebelliousness are underdeveloped, while the unfortunate mistake is made of shifting the focus to Hillary Duff's character. Duff basically plays a caricature of herself (or at least her public image) as a teenage diva, who only worked in the first movie because she was distilled in small doses. There's also a side story with one of the younger siblings having her first crush. Like the first film, this installment relies on Martin's physical comedy for laughs with some very relatable moments along the way and in the end, the family wins out over all other forces.

This movie is as stereotypical as a family comedy can get in fact we have seen so many similar roles from Steve Martin in family comedies that one cannot honestly expect much from such films and indeed i went into this movie(as the company demanded i see a pg rated film) expecting as much.

The good part about the whole thing is that family comedies follow fool proof formulas and as such it is rare to find a bad one. So we have the summer release the 2 hot teens, one hot mom (carmen Electra looked spectacular), the overzealous and protective dad, the childhood romance etc etc you get what I'm saying right.

The acting of this movie is good with special mention for Steve Martin who is a regular comedy dad and even though brings nothing new to the film at least insures you never get bored. Eugene Levy also does a good job playing the eccentric dad of the rival family. Carmen Electra i realised is actually a good actress and looks great in this movie. However former preteen-queen Hilary duff looked way to thin and quite ugly.

The jokes of the film mostly squeaky clean although there is some much appreciated jokes for the adults that are so needed in this film. Particularly funny is the scene where the dog spoils the elaborate lunch, the take on another famous creature movie was hilarious. The film is filled with funny moments that will make you smile maybe force a half laugh but no scene is fall out your seat funny.

The film also serves the regular family fare with ease but almost every scene looks run of the mill and there is nothing new to add to film in the family-comedy-drama department. Being from India i found the father following his child on a date quite funny and something which i can actually picture someone who i know doing.

The movie is absolute run of the mill affair and loosed out on the novelty value that the first one enjoyed. However it serves the regular enjoyable family fare.

Watch it only if the company (family, going with friend and his girl friend for the first movie hehe) requires that you watch such a film.

I never saw Cheaper by the Dozen (the 2003 surprise hit), and I don't think you have to see it so get all you can out of the sequel. That is to say, there is little to get out of it, so don't waste your time "preparing" for it. Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a formulaic family comedy where Steve Martin becomes a father possessed with a drive to outdo another father, only to be reminded that his family will still love him no matter if they win the big movie-contrived competition or not. Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and his wife, Kate (Bonnie Hunt) begin the movie by attending their daughter's graduation ceremony with his 11 other kids. Lorraine's graduation (Hilary Duff, no singing this time) motivates Tom to start thinking about how the family is moving apart from the customary tight-knit group he remembers, so he wants to take the family on one last vacation. So they load up the cars and vans and head out to some lake somewhere in the Midwest (or Canada, depending on the film's budget), a lake that has seen the evil Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy) buy up all of the land and build super lake homes on the shore. Jimmy and Tom have a history, one that is sort of dumb and is one of those back stories that can only be written for a story like this one. I really like Eugene Levy as a comedic actor, but I don't think he was right for this role. Levy excels in understated humor, where his character has no idea he's being funny. The role of Jimmy is over-the-top and cliché and I didn't think he fit the role well at all. Carmen Electra plays Jimmy's wife, and she's actually very good at playing the bimbo wife when given the chance, and the kid actors are generally good as well. The story is predictable and only mildly entertaining, but I guess families will enjoy the night out and there is a certain sweet charm to the final scenes of the film.

I liked the first one better, but this movie was funny in its own right.

I read someone's review before about how its nothing like the book. I haven't read the book, but, I have to say this - In this day and age did you really expect them to keep to the book? Look at all the other movies based on books - Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, for examples - they are as true representations as you get. Everything else - Ella Enchanted, for example - doesn't resemble the book in any way, excluding the title and the names of the characters. I've learned not to have high expectations of movies based on books, and until you do, you're always going to be disappointed. You've got to look at the movie for what it is, not for what the book was.

Tom and Kate (Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt) decide to take the whole family on a summer vacation to Lake Winnetka, but it soon turns into a competition between their family and that of Tom's arch-rival Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy).

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a harmless and bland sequel. It offers a few laughs but not enough to sustain its running time. The original film was an okay family film, nothing special. The sequel is more or less the same and it also makes for a decent family film. I was expecting a little more though. There are a few interesting subplots but the main premise is very silly. I know it's a family movie and all but why did the story have to be so generic? Since the script is weak there is a lack of character development, the film is kind of boring. There are a few funny gags and performances but they aren't good enough to save the movie.

The acting is okay and only a couple people give good performances. The best performance is given by Alyson Stoner. Her character goes through the most development and she handles it pretty well. Liliana Mumy and Morgan York also give good performances though they don't get a lot of screen time. The strength of the comedy should have been the rivalry between Steve Martin and Eugene Levy. Levy is only mildly funny while Steve Martin is not funny at all. He just tries too hard and it comes off as annoying. Bonnie Hunt gives a decent performance and she has a few funny lines. Hilary Duff gives an annoying performance as Lorraine and she's hardly in the film, which is a good thing. Carmen Electra makes for good eye candy but she doesn't do anything special. Piper Perabo and Jamie King both give decent performances. Tom Welling just gives a bland performance while Jonathon Bennett only has a few lines and his character is not developed at all.

Director Adam Shankman only does an okay job behind the camera. I like the way he captures the Baker family and their love for one another. There are some nice moments in the movie about family values and the ending is pretty nice. Besides for that, he just keeps the film bland and uninteresting while leaving out some of the Baker kids. On the one hand, I wanted the film to be longer than 90 minutes so all the characters could have been portrayed well. On the other hand, if they had kept the same story and made the film longer then the movie would have been unbearable. On a last note, compared to Yours, Mine and Ours, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 looks like a masterpiece. In the end, the movie is only average but it should make for a nice rental if you're looking for a family film. Rating 5/10

I loved the first movie a lot. This one was not as good as the first, but it was still likeable. It's hard to find a good family comedy film that's clean and can make you laugh. Cheaper by the Dozen is one of those rare films. Perhaps the plot is simple and part two is less about the kids and more about the father. But I like the values in the movie along side the comedy. It has its funny moments and I love that its one of those films you don't have to think too hard, you can just sit back and waste sometime on it. The cast is excellent as always and even better, its the original cast from the previous film. It's nice to see Tom Welling and Hilary Duff once more. I wish they would make more films like this one. Large family, lots of comedy and decent values.

As a general rule, in my book any movie that bills itself as a comedy and includes a scene where a dog goes for someone's crotch has failed - see "Hudson Hawk" and "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills." As a general rule, in my book anything with Carmen Electra is a must to avoid (except for her episode of "The Simpsons," of course). "Cheaper By The Dozen 2" has both, and the latter is actually bearable in a Kathy Ireland kind of way as Eugene Levy's fourth wife. In no sense should she come off better than either him or Steve Martin.

The first movie was no classic, but it was amusing; this followup is even less of a classic and almost entirely non-amusing - the movie's totally predictable (is there a chance that pregnant Piper Perabo's waters will break at just the wrong moment?), fails to get even the cheapest sentiment deservedly, and most of the jokes are DOA and/or badly staged, with the exceptions of the duelling campfire singalong and the scene where Martin and Levy are spying on two of their kids in a cinema showing "Ice Age." Lucky them. (Incidentally, Martin says the movie is rated G; "Ice Age" was rated PG in America.)

My condolences to the cast, who do try their best with Sam Harper's script (even Tom Welling and Jaime King) - but you know what they say about sow's ears and silk purses. A harmless but pretty dispiriting and bland sequel; and Hilary Duff's worryingly gaunt appearance isn't a plus. Like the script, the girl needs some help.

As a teenage girl, and a fan of the first movie, I found the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen to be above my expectations. Usually, movie sequels are a disappointment, I have found, as was with Shrek 2, for example, but I found that Cheaper by the Dozen 2 was hilarious and a really good movie outlining the importance of family and family values. Yes, it was slightly predictable, as these movies often are, but I found that was strongly over-ridden by the comedy and 'slap-stick' that happened throughout the film to make it so entertaining. All the family had matured since that first film and it was interesting to see what the children had grown up to be like, and how much they had changed since the first film. I recommend this movie to fans of the first film, or anyone who just wants to see a light-hearted, 'feel-good' and all-over great movie.

Thank goodness this one is just so so so much better than the remake of "Yours Mine and Ours", that one is inevitably going to compare "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" to, given that both stories claim to involve comedy and rather large families.

The difference? "Cheaper by the Dozen" is a much better movie, at the very least due to it's significantly lower rating on the Cringing At Overbaked Cheesiness Scale. Acting, storyline, are much more realistic and believable in this movie, and make the characters very sweet and endearing to the audience. Can't say the same about "Yours, mine and ours", unfortunately.

Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, and Eugene Levy really make this show great. It's as if the parts were written just for them - if you try to imagine other actors playing the same roles, the resulting movie could've been disastrous.

If you have kids/grandkids/siblings/cousins/rathersmallhyperactivechildren that you need to bring to the movies this Christmas, you might as well bring them to this one: it's fairly good.

Steve Martin's entertaining vehicle with young people and agreeable actors . The film deals about a happy family , the father (Steve Martin) is a notorious coach and the mother (Bonnie Hunt) is a writer and with twelve sons (Tom Welling, Piper Perabo, Hilary Duff..) . In the first part dealt with Tom who received a new offer as a trainer of a famous football team and she obtained her dream for the publishing the book titled : ¨Cheaper by the dozen¨. With the new job , they had to change from a small city to the big town . This second installment is set two years after the events in the previous film concerns The Bakers, this time the Baker family begins to undergo many changes, starting with Lorraine (Hilary Duff) and her desire to study in New York. Their oldest daughter Nora (Piper Perabo) is now married to Bud McNulty (Jonathan Bennett) and heavily pregnant. They intend to move to Houston because of Bud's new job promotion . While on vacation, find themselves competing with a rival family of eight children whose stiff father is Jimmy (Eugene Levy) , an old contender to Tom . Steve Martin ought to keep the familiar order involving in his own home while at the same time training the team to win the rival family . And along the way , the protagonist suffer numerous jokes and misfortunes in charge of the brothers . This Christmas The More... The Scarier! Growing pains? They've got twelve of them!This Christmas, you better watch out! This Christmas You Better Watch Out! Same Big Family... Even Bigger Adventure.

The picture is pretty entertaining and amusing , the film contains bemusing scenes and continuous laughters and various chuckles with lots of fun . It's a new version of the classic film with similar title featured by Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy . Although this movie is loosely based on a book by that title "Cheaper By The Dozen" about a real-life family, the book was written by one of the sons, Frank B. Gilbreth Jr., along with his sister, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. Although this film is based on that same book that inspired the 1950 film , the only element it retains from the original is the idea of there being 12 children in one family. Even the names of the characters are changed. The picture belongs to numerous family sub-genre whose maxim representation is ¨Yours , mine and ours¨ with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball and recently remade with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo . As trivia , to add the following one : when the "Cheaper by the Dozen" movies were made, neither Steve Martin nor Bonnie Hunt, who played the parents of 12 children, had ever had a child in real life . Based on the real life Gilbreth family, in fact the name Gilbreth appears sometimes throughout the film . As Gilbreth family on whom the film was based had 6 boys and 6 girls ; also, they 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 . Steve Martin , as always , plays as excessive manner , making an authentic recital , if you like Martin's crazy interpretation , you'll enjoy this one . However , Tim Allen, Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks were considered for the role of Tom Baker. Besides , there appears as sons , known and young actors as Tom Welling (Smallville) , Hilary Duff (LizzyMcGuire) , Piper Perabo (Bar Coyote) and other kiddies as Taylor Lautner , Alyson Stoner , Jonathan Bennett, Jacob Smith , Liliana Mumy ,Morgan York , among others . The yarn was well realized , though without originality , and and with the same equipment was shot the first part . The motion picture was professionally directed by Adam Shankman : Hocus Pocus 2 , The pacifier, Rock of ages , Bedtime Stories , Wedding plans , Hairspray , A Walk to Remember. The flick will appeal to family films enthusiasts and Steve Martin fans.

'Cheaper by the Dozen 2' is pretty much the typical family comedy that has nothing new to offer. That does not mean that the film is absent of entertainment. It pretty much follows the usual formula with the regular ingredients. The slapstick and jokes are expected but still amusing. There are some funny adult jokes too. The film has heart and that's what works for it. Shankman and his cast and crew must have had a great time (as was also apparent on the DVD extras). Steve Martin and Eugene Levy are good. Martin has played the comedic family dad perhaps more than a dozen times and he has become quite skilled at it. The extremely talented Bonnie Hunt is criminally underused but she has an effective presence, nonetheless. Carmen Electra is a surprise. She plays a hot mom but not the clichéd one, rather one that is compassionate, gentle and caring. Electra does a good job and proves that she can do more than being just an airhead or a seductress. Piper Perabo is also underused. Jaime King is very pretty. Hilary Duff plays sort of a spoilt brat (which is a change from her sweet pretty girl image) but her acting is quite bad and she needs to eat. The child actors were all fun to watch. Overall, it's all goofy family fun and quite enjoyable when watching with the family.

There are some good moments in this comedy sequel, but overall I found it limp and overly-predictable. Steve Martin and Eugene Levy do well as the two dads Tom and Jimmy, in fact the entire cast do well, even Carmen Electra who I can't stand. There is some nice scenery and music, and there are one or two funny parts, like the scene in the cinema and the line about the sweater. But as a sequel to an acceptable first film, it didn't score well with me. I will say it wasn't absolutely dire like I feared, but it is badly flawed. I actually found the gag reels funnier than the overall movie. The story is very predictable, and the jokes are either hits or misses, mostly misses sadly. Another problem was the very weak and clichéd script, not to mention the sluggish direction. Overall, not terrible, but it could have been better with a stronger script and less predictable story. 4/10 Bethany Cox

2003's Cheaper by the Dozen caught me by surprise when it turned out to be one of year's box office hits and yet the studio at 20th Century Fox came up with the idea of a sequel being needed to give character.

Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt reprise their roles as Tom and Kate Baker, two of the loveliest parents you'll ever seen on screen, where things are changing around for the family. Their third child Lorraine (Hilary Duff) is graduating from high school and with summer on the way, all the children have plans of their own and not be with their parents. All of the kids return with Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) playing Nora, the first born who's having a baby and married to a guy that resembles Ashton Kutcher from the first movie; Tom Welling's Charlie doesn't have that many scenes while Hilary Duff as Lorraine probably shocked everybody with her thin body shape. However the breakout star is Alyson Stoner in the role of Sarah where during the film she manages to pull a few tricks up her sleeve just like the first movie.

Back to the plot. Now with the twelve kids wanting to go their separate ways for the summer, Tom suggests to Kate that they go back to the lake house and do things as a family until an old rival (Eugene Levy) shows up at the same place where Tom's envy starts to get the best of him.

Some parts of the film worked like the relationship between Steve and Bonnie's characters along with the way they interact with the kids. Sarah's growing up and liking one of Eugene Levy's sons was something that worked as well where she did everything like a normal girl would do from giggles to even stealing make-up. What didn't work for me was the fact that I felt as if I was watching the same thing like the first movie with problems on the horizon that one way or another, there's a happy ending.

Steve martin plays a Mormon exile who has many wives and many more kids in this family movie about the epic battle between fundamentalist Mormons and Jews. Eugene levy plays a sensational role as a land owner who also has a lot of kids and a wife played by Carmen Electra. a key contradiction i noticed in the film is that martin's wife is played by someone who was in jumanji whereas levy's wife was married to Dennis rodman. i will never understand the casting director's decision in this regard. i also noticed that martin's oldest son is superman but he refuses to own up to his powers. you can easily understand this when you watch the part at the end where the familes have a tournament to see who is genetically superior. tom welling is in the egg on a spoon race and drops the egg and then trips and thusly falling to the ground; however, i have seen many episodes of smallville and i know for a fact that welling has impeccable balance and that his reflexes are so fast that he could have caught that egg even after it fell. probably the moral of the story is that they have a pet rat who steals all their stuff (another allusion to the common practices of Jewish people) and yet they find all the stolen stuff in a wall. it was very emotional and dare i say shakespearean.

If there was ever a way to waste 90 minutes of your time, then watching this movie is it. It was terrible. Nothing was funny about it. It was boring and predictable and childish. I liked the first film OK, but this script did not need to be made.

This movie was like a stand up comedian on stage who looks awkward because after telling a joke, there is complete silence. It almost makes you cringe when Steve Martin says another one liner that tanks. I like Martin but he can't save this abysmal script.

FINAL VERDICT: One of the worst movies of the year. If you are over 10, do not waste your time or money watching it.

There are four reasons to go see this movie. Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Eugene Levy and Alison Stoner. Stoner is terrific as the evil child. When Martin turns her loose to play pranks she makes the rest of the movie hilarious. Hunt and Martin together make a great comedic team. But, even they accompanied by Eugene Levy couldn't save this movie from mediocrity. If they had not shown most of the best scenes in the commercials and on the talk shows and if they cut most of the useless subplots and about half of the kids this could have been a slightly better than halfway decent movie. If you are not an avid fan of these four performers then stay home and wait for it to appear on your favorite network.

cheaper by the dozen 2 is our favorite movie of all time. it taught us that when you're a parent, letting go can be the hardest thing you will ever do. Steve martin (tom) learns the hard way of letting there kids go. as this movie progresses, you fall more and more in love with each character. in the first movie, everyone was a really tight unit but know the kids are starting to venter off on their own and getting more and more independent. in this one, they hit the lake for a family get away but when they get there, they are in for a real surprise. the kids all look far more grown up compared to the first one so it was really cool to see them in their older years. thank you for reading our review and we hope you enjoy the film brought to you by 20th century fox "cheaper by the dozen 2"

Cheaper by the dozen 2 is very nice and entertaining movie to see. I liked the first movie more but this one was still good. Cheaper by the dozen 2 is about the Baker's family vacation and mostly about Tom and his rivalry Jimmy Murtaugh and there competition. Unlike the first cheaper by the dozen, this one was focused more on the rivalry of Tom's and his enemy instead of mostly about the children. Tom is jealous and annoyed of Jimmy because he has a better home, well-behaved children, better furniture and a pretty wife. Alyson Stoner (Sarah Baker) did a great job in this movie, she was one of the many children with a main plot, she stole the show...great job. Hilary Duff (Lorraine Baker) and Tom Welling (Charlie Baker) also did great, the younger kids were kinda eh.

This was a pretty funny movie, it had its funny moments, id recommend his movie, its worth watching, seriously

In the past i have been a great fan of Steve Martin.Many of his films such as Roxanne,The Man With Two Brains,were very funny and well made films,Then something seemed to happen around the time he made Father of the Bride.He seemed to decide that commercial success and pleasing the lowest common denominator was more important than making really funny and entertaining films.I went to the cinema knowing what this would be like so i was not surprised.This is filmaking at its very worst.It is lazy filmaking,filmaking by numbers.Whatever worked in the first film try it again in the second film and then maybe you will get a third film.It is little surprise that the attendances are falling off in the States when Hollywood can produce this sort of tripe.