Cheaper by the Dozen 2

Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Adam Shankman
Produced by	Shawn Levy Ben Myron
Written by	Sam Harper
Based on	Characters  by Craig Titley Cheaper by the Dozen  by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Emestine Gilbreth Carey
Starring	Steve Martin Eugene Levy Bonnie Hunt Tom Welling Piper Perabo Hilary Duff Carmen Electra Jaime King
Music by	John Debney
Cinematography	Peter James
Editing by	Matthew Cassel Christopher Greenbury
Studio	21 Laps Entertainment Dozen Canada Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	December 21, 2005 (2005-12-21)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million (est)
Box office	$135,015,330

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a 2005 comedy film produced by 20th Century Fox. It is the sequel to the family comedy film Cheaper by the Dozen (2003). Shawn Levy, the director of the first film, did not return as director for this sequel, which was instead directed by Adam Shankman (The Pacifier). Levy was a producer of the film and made an appearance as a hospital intern in the movie. Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, Alyson Stoner and Tom Welling reprise their roles as members of the twelve-child Baker family. Eugene Levy co-stars as the patriarch of a rival family of 8 children. Carmen Electra portrays Levy's trophy wife.

The film was shot in Toronto and Eugene Levy's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and on Stoney Lake in Burleigh Falls, Ontario. It includes the book Green Eggs and Ham and the film Ice Age.

Plot

The Baker family begins to undergo many changes, beginning 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, but the couple intend to move to Houston because of Bud's new job promotion.

Feeling that the family is breaking apart as the children grow up and move away, Tom (Steve Martin) persuades the entire family to take one last family vacation all together at Lake Winnetka. Tom's old rival Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy) and his large family (with "only" eight kids) are also there for the summer. Jimmy constantly flaunts his wealth and success to Tom, as well as the accomplishments of his children, often suggesting to Tom that the Baker children are less successful because of Tom's parenting style. The Baker kids get into many incidents, several of which are accidental: Mark Baker (Forrest Landis), along with Kenny Murtaugh, crashes into a tennis court with a golf cart; Sarah Baker (Alyson Stoner) is caught stealing merchandise from a gift shop, and Mark accidentally sets off a backpack of fireworks, causing widespread panic, especially when the backpack is thrown into a boat, igniting its engine and causing it to explode.

Jimmy again starts the topic that Tom needs to use a firmer hand on his kids. Tom is angered by this and they decide to settle the matter at the Annual Labor Day Family Cup. Tom trains the kids for days, not realizing that they are miserable. Sarah and Elliot Murtaugh (Taylor Lautner) go on a date at a movie theater watching Ice Age, but are spied on by their fathers, leading to an argument between the two and humiliating their children. Upon returning home, Sarah is furious and refuses to compete for her father in the "stupid cup". Everyone, including Kate, is angry with Tom, not only for spying on Sarah, but also for ruining the entire trip through his competitiveness with the Murtaughs.

The next morning, Tom goes to the Cup to compete with Nigel and Kyle (the only two still willing to go). However, after discovering an old "Team Baker" flag, Kate and the rest of the family show up, showing that they forgive Tom and are willing to compete. Unfortunately, after all events, the Murtaughs and the Bakers are tied for first; a tiebreaking canoe race where every family member must compete is announced. During the race, Nora's water breaks, and the Bakers and the Murtaughs work together to get her to the hospital as she goes into labor. Bud, Lorraine and Kate go with Nora in the delivery room, while Tom, Jimmy and the rest of the kids stay in the waiting room. While talking to Jimmy, Tom realizes that he has to let his kids grow, but wherever they go, they will always be with him, and he will always be with them. Nora then gives birth to a baby boy who she and Bud name Tom in honor of her father, who has shown them "there is no way to be a perfect parent, but a million ways to be a really good one." Bud also announces that they have bought "The Big House", the vacation home that the Bakers have been renting. Nora, Bud and baby Tom leave for Houston three days later.

The movie ends with the Murtaughs and the Bakers having a barbecue at their house. While Tom and Kate are dancing on the end of the boardwalk, it breaks loose from the dock and begins to float away, but the two ignore it and continue dancing while the credits roll.

Cast

The Bakers

• Steve Martin as Tom Baker, the main protagonist. In the first film he is seen as the typical family man, but his competitive and protective side emerges in the second film as he feels the need to keep his family together.

• Bonnie Hunt as Kate Baker, Tom Baker's wife. While she is supportive of Tom's efforts to keep the family close, she also sees that Tom's attempts are also pushing their children away from him.

• Piper Perabo as Nora Baker-McNulty, age 24, now married and pregnant. She is seen as more involved with her family but still keen on getting away. She is much more mature and independent, having broken up with her old boyfriend Hank during the first film, and is now married to a kinder man named Bud McNulty.

• Tom Welling as Charlie Baker, age 19, who broke up with his girlfriend Beth in the first film. He finds a connection with Anne Murtaugh when they struggle with what they want to do versus their fathers' expectations of them.

• Hilary Duff as Lorraine Baker, age 18. Fashion forward and still obsessed with beauty and perfection, she is seen as the girly-girl of the family and is still resentful of nature. With her recent graduation, she wants to attend school in New York.

• Kevin G. Schmidt as Henry Baker, age 14, not so obsessed with his clarinet anymore, but still musically talented.

• Alyson Stoner as Sarah Baker, age 11, who becomes insecure about her tomboyish nature and love of sports when she develops a crush on Elliot Murtaugh.

• Jacob Smith as Jake Baker, age 13, loving the skateboards even though time has gone by. He is now older but still immature and obsessed with practical jokes.

• Forrest Landis as Mark Baker, age 9, the nature junkie. He is still vulnerable, agreeing to anything mischievous enemies can think of.

• Morgan York as Kim Baker, age 10, one of the twins, still a genius and now more focused on computers and logic rather than the immaturity she and her sister shared.

• Liliana Mumy as Jessica Baker, age 10, still a firecracker, very much like her twin sister.

• Blake Woodruff as Mike Baker, age 8, still mischievous and little but hilarious.

• Shane Kinsman as Kyle Winnetka Baker, age 7, one of the second group of twins. He is now older and more understanding of his family's issues.

• Brent Kinsman as Nigel Lake Baker, age 7, like his twin brother. He and Kyle still share a close relationship with Tom, unhindered by Tom's attempts to keep everyone close.

• Jonathan Bennett as Bud McNulty, Nora's husband and her son's father. He loves his wife and will do anything for her. He is seen as nice and lovey-dovey but shows his seriousness during the birth of his son.

The Murtaughs

• Eugene Levy as Jimmy Murtaugh, the main antagonist, and Tom's high school rival. He is competitive and controlling about his children's lives.

• Carmen Electra as Sarina Murtaugh, a former actress and Jimmy's third wife. She is very open and exciting, getting along well with Kate. She loves to wear revealing clothes showing her wild side, but still tries to be a good mother to her stepkids.

• Shawn Roberts as Calvin Murtaugh, age 21, handsome and tall, but also extremely air-headed and proud, just like his father.

• Robbie Amell as Daniel Murtaugh, age 20; he is similar to Calvin.

• Jaime King as Anne Murtaugh, age 17, the beautiful eldest daughter of Jimmy. She is nicknamed Superstar by her dad for being the most successful of all eight children and is also his favorite, against her wishes. She gets a tattoo to show her resentment of her dad's expectations of her.

• Melanie Tonello as Becky Murtaugh, age 14. She is not seen much throughout the film, but, like her siblings, is a classic over-achiever.

• Taylor Lautner as Elliot Murtaugh, age 13, an eighth grade honor student who plays several sports, is musically attuned, and very kind. Sarah Baker has a crush on him, which he seems to reciprocate.

• Madison Fitzpatrick as Robin Murtaugh, age 10. She and her sister are always seen together, though they are not introduced very much.

• Courtney Fitzpatrick as Lisa Murtaugh, age 10. She is the same as her twin sister.

• Alexander Conti as Kenneth Murtaugh, age 9, a frenemy of Mark, getting him into constant trouble.

Production

The film was shot in Toronto and Eugene Levy's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The scenes at Lakeside High School were filmed at St. Andrew's College. The lake and cottage scenes were located at Rockwood, Ontario, and Burleigh Falls, Ontario on Stoney Lake.

Soundtrack

1. "I Wish" – Stevie Wonder
2. "Graduation Day Song – Joseph L. Altruda
3. "Mexicali Mondays" – Christopher Lightbody and Robert Steinmiller
4. "What If" – Gina Rene
5. "Martini Lounge" – David Sparkman
6. "Drinks on the House" – Daniel May
7. "Big Sky Lullaby" – Daniel May
8. "Someday" – Sugar Ray
9. "Express Yourself" – Jason Mraz
10. "Michael Finnegan" – Traditional
11. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" – Traditional
12. "Why Can't We Be Friends" – War
13. "Die Walküre" – Richard Wagner
14. "Theme from Jaws" – John Williams
15. "Mallin" – Tree Adams
16. "Under Pressure" – Queen and David Bowie
17. "Music from Ice Age" – David Newman
18. "Holiday" – Madonna
19. "Sunday Morning" (acoustic version) – Maroon 5
20. "Bridal Chorus" – Richard Wagner

Reception

Reviews for the film were overwhelmingly negative. Rotten Tomatoes ranked Cheaper by the Dozen 2 98th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s, with a rating of 6% based on 93 reviews of the film. Critic Roger Ebert, however, gave this film a positive 3/4 stars, stating "As I watched this sequel, a certain good feeling began to make itself known. Yes, the movie is unnecessary. However, it is unnecessary at a higher level of warmth and humor than the recent remake Yours, Mine, and Ours."

The film received two Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actress (Hilary Duff) and Worst Supporting Actor (Eugene Levy).

External links

• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at the Internet Movie Database
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at AllRovi
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at Box Office Mojo