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| Tom Baker (Steve Martin) can't wait to lead his clan in an epic battle against a rival family in the comedy "Cheaper by the Dozen 2." (AP photo/Twentieth Century Fox/Peter Stranks) |
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'Dozen' remake cheapens Martin's humor, integrity
By ROGER MOORE / The Orlando Sentinel
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 - 08:35:52 pm CST
“Cheaper by the Dozen 2” is perfectly acceptable schmaltz, another movie ode to permissive parenting and inadequate birth control. So if you didn’t get your the-more-the-merrier jollies with the remake of “Yours, Mine & Ours,” here’s a sequel to the last “Dozen.”
But two “Dozens” and “Ours” together don’t have a dozen laughs between them.
“Shopgirl” proved that Steve Martin doesn’t want to spend his dotage remaking the John Candy movie catalog. But that’s pretty much what comedy’s reigning sell-out is doing. He’s “Father of the Bride” to Father of the Brood.
That’s what “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” is, another half-hearted cha-ching family “comedy” about the dozen-kid Baker family of upstate Illinois. Martin reunites with his first “Dozen” and “Bringing Down the House” director, ex-choreographer Adam Shankman, and a teeming mass of kids for a Labor Day trip to the old family vacation rental. That’s where Tom (Martin) can renew his rivalry with Jimmy Murtaugh, played by Eugene Levy, who at least gives Martin somebody with comic weight to battle.
The frugal Bakers and the wealthy Murtaughs mix it up. Mom (the ever-game Bonnie Hunt) tries to keep the peace. But she and the latest Mrs. Murtaugh (Carmen Electra) are having no luck.
At least the kids are getting along — almost too well. The oldest, Charlie Baker (Tom Welling of “Smallville”) and Anne Murtaugh (Jaime King), are batting eyes at one another. The Bakers’ tomboyish prankster, Sarah, played by the very winning Alyson Stoner, is discovering boys, a Murtaugh boy to be precise.
Yes, the “Dozen” are growing up. Nora (Piper Perabo) and her new hubby are expecting. As Tom puts it, “Life’s blazing by.” He’s just an observer.
Jimmy Murtaugh is his opposite, a control freak. “Parenting comes down to one word, Tom. Push. You don’t push, they don’t amount to anything.” His kids are over-achievers. The Bakers have other priorities.
Martin recycles all his “Parenthood”/“Father of the Bride” shtick, the funny dance, the goofy efforts to be “cool with the kids.” His idea of daddyhood seems to be that clueless bachelor camp counselor whose car we would stuff with pine needles every summer.
Teen idol Hilary Duff, back as the high-maintenance Baker girl, has moved into a particularly awkward-looking age. When she’s old enough, she should sue her hairdresser on this one. She looks like a horse, a scary horse. With cleavage.
Martin’s longtime fans can only cling to the odd moment — a hip-hop turn in “Bringing Down the House,” or the planned film of his funny play, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”
Cheaper By The Dozen 2
Director: Adam Shankman
Stars: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Eugene Levy, Piper Perabo
Rated: PG
Now Showing: Grand, East Park
The Reel Story: The formerly funny Martin squanders his talent in yet another big-brood family comedy, this time competing with another bunch led by Levy. This one’s almost laughless.
Note: A full review was in Wednesday’s (Dec. 21, 2005) Journal Star.
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