Cheaper By the Dozen (2003)
Picture: B Sound: B Extras: B Film: B-
Some remakes take
advantage of the fact that few have seen the original and in the case here, few
probably are aware of the 1950 version featuring Clifton Webb, which is based
on the book written by the real-life Gilbreth family. This recent rendition dismisses the original
in many aspects and takes on a new face with the obvious upgrades that have
taken place in the 50+ years since the original. Family life is far different now in so many
regards, which makes the new film work since there are changes to discuss.
Steve Martin has ups and
downs when it comes to his comedies, while some do very well, others do poorly
and it’s hard to tell which ones are hits and which ones are misses. Bringing
Down the House (2003) did fairly well and it would seem that the actor
still has the ability to bring comedy to the big screen. With Cheaper
By the Dozen, the laughs are not as big, mostly with the PG rating, and
therefore the film has moments, but not as many as some might hope for. Certain comical moments that could have been
cashed in on instead get skipped over.
The film also has a nice
slew of acting talent with Bonnie Hunt (known for her TV show and other
miscellaneous appearances) plays Kate Baker, the patient wife to Steve Martin’s
Tom Baker. Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, and
Piper Perabo also co-star. Both Tom and
Kate have learned how to manage a chaotic life with 12 kids total, but then two
opportunities come at the same time, both their dream jobs. His is to coach his former college’s football
team, which is an offer he can’t refuse, but this means moving the family four
hours away. Then Kate’s book (their
biography of raising 12 kids) is optioned for publishing and she must go on
tour to promote the book. So with both parents now trying to live their dream jobs it causes a slight
problem, what do we do with the kids?
Their ages range from 5 or 6 all the way up to their oldest daughter who
has moved out and is on her first career job.
The laughs begin to pile
up as Tom must stay at home and try to raise the kids while Kate is out on the
road, but with the new job coaching he must figure out which team he wants to
coach, the football team or his own family.
There are few surprises in the film and it runs by the numbers to make
for an enjoyable, fun, and overall feel-good kind of movie that gets pretty
bittersweet for some tastes.
Fox has issued the film to
DVD and although the film did so-so at the Box Office, it has a larger demand
for home video, as there is little competition right now for a fun all around
kind of movie that suits the entire family.
This is coming from the same director (Shawn Levy) that brought us Just
Married last year starring Brittney Murphy and Ashton Kutcher, but this is
certainly a better film, despite some similarities in the comic pulloff. His next project is the remake Pink Panther, which has the capability
to ruin his career if tinkered with too much.
Presented in an anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 transfer, Fox delivers a
relatively clean print, but the colors and detail tend to be more of a problem
than is necessary. On smaller TV sets
this is not nearly as noticeable, but on larger sets, even widescreen or
flatscreen it becomes more abundant as softness occurs throughout and detail on
the edges of objects becomes muddy.
Luckily this is not the type of film that involves fast moving objects
where it would become a true disaster.
In the audio world, there
is nothing overly spectacular going on either.
I wish that Fox would go back and start doing more DTS titles rather
than just the big budget action pictures.
I would like to go on record in saying that while action movies benefit
greatly from a good sound design and presentation on DVD, dramas and comedies
can benefit just as greatly, but in a different sense. Some examples include the Ultimate Edition Notting Hill and Meet Joe Black from Universal, Superbit Edition of Snatch, or New Line’s John Q. are just a few of the examples
in which using DTS as an option besides the lackluster Dolby only option made
the film more realistic, naturalistic, and the sound adds more character making
certain sound jokes more prominent. A
kid falls down and depending on the sound reproduction the joke may or may not
work as well. The Dolby Digital 5.1
presentation here is mostly up front with little surround activity outside of
the music score and soundtrack.
The extras are just the
type expected for a film of this nature where they are focused more on the
‘fun’ element. Two commentary tracks are
presented, one with director Shawn Levy (more on the technical/production
elements) and the Baker Kids on the second commentary track. This adds a nice variety and keeps in the
spirit of the film as their comments keep a more comic tone and detail more of
the ‘what was it like working on the movie’ type of vibe. There are also a handful of deleted and
extended scenes that are available with or without the directors commentary,
which is the best way to show this type of material because it lets us know why
the material was shortened and/or cut altogether. Sometimes that material just doesn’t work and
other times it was just overkill on something else, but then there is the stuff
that is good, but just didn’t have a place in the film for other narrative
reasons. These are the main highlights
to the DVD, which those that really liked the movie will find to be a nice
add-on to keep you going for a few hours afterwards.
All in all this is one of
Fox’s stronger comedy efforts of late, but then again they haven’t exactly had
that much on their hands either. At
least the DVD offers some good extras, but upping the ante in the technical
department will be the only way to guarantee their survival in the market for
the newer climb into the world of High Definition and beyond. Let’s hope they make it!
- Nate Goss
