Cheaper by the Dozen Reviews

Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt corral a wild herd of rampaging children in Cheaper by the Dozen , an enjoyable family flick. When Kate Baker (Hunt, Jerry Maguire ) gets a book deal for her chronicle of their abundant family life, she also gets drawn into a book tour--leaving Tom (Martin, Bringing Down the House , The Jerk ) to run the house and cope with his new, high-pressure job as a football coach. Naturally, chaos erupts, bringing the family to the brink of meltdown. Cheaper by the Dozen is not a great movie or an important movie or even a surprising movie, but it is a warm-hearted crowd-pleaser. The Bakers' family life is a bit idealized and antiseptic, but anyone looking for an escape from their own less-ideal family lives won't mind. Also featuring Tom Welling, Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, and an uncredited Ashton Kutcher. --Bret Fetzer