Cheaper by the Dozen (2003 film)

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Cheaper by the Dozen
Image:Cheaper by the Dozen 2003 film poster.jpg
A promotional poster for Cheaper by the Dozen.
Directed by Shawn Levy
Produced by Michael Barnathan
Written by Craig Titley
Sam Harper
Joel Cohen & Alec Sokolow
Starring Steve Martin
Bonnie Hunt
Hilary Duff
Piper Perabo
Tom Welling
Alyson Stoner
Music by John Debney
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) December 26, 2003 (USA)
Running time 98 min.
Language English
Followed by Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
IMDb profile

Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American comedy film about a family with twelve children (seven boys and five girls). The title of the film was initially taken from the novel Cheaper by the Dozen, which was a biography of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth and their twelve children, but other than the title and the concept of a family with twelve children, the film bears no actual resemblance or similarities to the book. The film was directed by Shawn Levy who helped produce the sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The main plot is of Tom Baker trying to cope with both his new job and his kids however there are several sub-plots which get mixed up in between.

The plot summary in this article or section is too long compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

[edit] Countryside home

The movie begins with scenes showing Tom Baker (Steve Martin) jogging across the town of Midland where the family resides. Upon his return he finds his wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt) on the personal computer who is correcting mistakes to her novel in which she will later send away to be published. Tom returns to find his children preparing for school and running around the house. A later scene shows the Bakers preparing breakfast. Mark (Forrest Landis) enters the room looking for his lost pet frog called Beans. As the family sits down to eat breakfast, Mark spots Beans on the light above the breakfast table and uses a fishing net in an attempt to get him down; Beans then jumps and destroys the family's breakfast food. When Beans is finally caught after the kitchen being almost destroyed, Mark accidentally smashes his mother's china ornaments. At a later scene, Tom returns home after being offered a new job and promotion in the urban area of Illinois with education advantages and a new vehicle; however, although Kate approves, his children overhear and object to his proposed actions in a family conference in the living room. Even though the children vote about what they would rather do, Tom decides to accept the job and move to the city, many miles away from their current countryside home. After arriving in their new house, an argument ensues between the Baker children about which room each child will have. Mark is left only with the option of the small attic room which turns out to be the best room.

[edit] Urban home

They are greeted by the neighbours who take a negative atittude to the Bakers because of the number of their children and the fact that they "run wild". After settling into their new home, Tom is asked to speak live for FOX Sports and rushes out to present his speech live to America. The children plan to humiliate their older sister Nora's new boyfriend. Meanwhile, Kate is offered a book tour. The children begin to misbehave and Tom begins to find it hard to handle the situation. It is made worse when Kate telephones him asking if he could manage for another two weeks as the book tour has been extended. The younger children misbehave and Tom has to seek help from his eldest daughter Nora. Kate ends the book tour and returns home, angry at Tom for not telling her that he could not handle it.

A news shoot is held in the Baker home, despite the chaotic day they had, just before the shoot starts, Mark enters the room and informs everyone that his frog Beans has died; Sarah Baker then tells him no one cares and calls him FedEx and a large argument and fight ensues, causing the shooting crew to leave. That night, Kate discovers a note on Mark's bed saying Big families stink, with Mark missing. The family begins searching after calling the police, Tom realizes that Mark's favorite place was the Midland house and frantically makes his way to the railway station. He finds Mark, on a train heading towards Midland. They then get off the train the next day after travelling to Midland and greet the family at the Midland railway station and apologize to each other. Tom quits his football career to find a job which would provide more time for him to spend time with his family. While they return to the city and begin to adjust to their new life, Kate's book is published and stays at the number one at the bestseller's list on the book chart for 12 months.

[edit] Characters

Character name Portrayed by Brief biography
Tom Baker Steve Martin The father of the twelve children and husband of Kate Baker. Tom grew up in a large family and wished that his own family would be the same. He was a college footballer, beginning his relationship with Kate in his school years, and developed ambitions to become a professional football coach. He and Kate had several offspring together and reside with their children in the countryside.
Kate Baker Bonnie Hunt The mother of the twelve children and wife of Tom Baker. In her childhood, she lost her sister and grew up in a small family. Wishing she had a bigger family like what her children have now, she had dreams of becoming a journalist in Illinois and writing for the newspaper; however, she moved to the countryside with Tom in the early 1990s and began her new life their with him and their children. Baker appears to have a talent in writing and has had one of her books published.
Nora Baker Piper Perabo The oldest child of the Bakers, 22-year old Nora wants to have her own life with her boyfriend but still helps out her family.
Charlie Baker Tom Welling 17-year old Charlie is a football player, who had a girlfriend named Beth when the Bakers lived in Midland. Their relationship became distant upon moving away, but he still keeps regular contact with her. Charlie notes that the move has ruined his life and becomes angry with his father.
Lorraine Baker Hilary Duff 15-year old Lorraine is the fashion queen of the Baker family and is anxious about getting out of big sister Nora's hand-me-downs. Because of this, she and sister Sarah often bump heads. When Kate and Nora are gone, she feels uncomfortable about being the woman of the house.
Henry Baker Kevin Schmidt Henry Baker is a player of the clarinet, he bonds with his older brother, Charlie. He feels hurt when Charlie begins to push him away.
Jake Baker Jacob Smith Jake is one of the younger children of the house, he rides a skateboard and regularly always refers to people as dudes. For example, when he asked his mom for new skates, he quoted, "Dude, two words: need new skates." To which his mother; Kate Baker replies, "Dude, three words: paper route."
Sarah Baker Alyson Stoner Sarah is described as the tomboy of the house. Because of this, she often quarrels with Lorraine. She has been known to play lacrosse and is said to have a dark gift, as her father Tom has quoted, being behind several schemes to get rid of Hank, sister Nora's kid-hating boyfriend. NOTE: Tom almost always addresses her "Sarah Baker" instead of just Sarah, and she could be his favourite child.
Mark Baker Forrest Landis His siblings call him FedEx, saying he doesn't belong to the Baker family and that he was delivered by FedEx. He likes animals, mostly frogs and snakes. He owns a frog named Beans which often gets himself into trouble.
Kim and Jessica Baker Morgan York (Kim)
Liliana Mumy (Jessica) 		Kim and Jessica are fraternal twins. They appear to be highly observant and often correct people, including the teachers.
Mike Baker Blake Woodruff One of the younger children of the family, shows a particular interest for karate and hockey.
Kyle and Nigel Baker Shane Kinsman (Kyle)
Brent Kinsman (Nigel) 		Kyle and Nigel are the youngest children of the house and are identical twins. They appear to be very energetic and sometimes nasty such as when they threw toy bricks at their pre-school teacher.
Hank Ashton Kutcher Boyfriend of Nora currently pursuing an acting career. Hank appears to be very selfish near the end of the movie, resulting in him and Nora breaking up.
Shake McGuire Richard Jenkins Tom Baker's superior. Described by Kate as a "hot dog"/"weiner".

[edit] Production crew

The film was directed by Shawn Levy[1].

[edit] Writers

The movie was written by several people, including one of the writers from the original movie:

[edit] Awards

Cheaper By The Dozen has been nominated for several awards. The following is a list of these:

Result Type of award Category Year
Nominated Blimp award Favorite Movie actor 2004
Nominated Razzie Award Worst actor 2004
Nominated Teen Choice Award Choice movie blush, Choice movie hissy fit, Choice breakout movie star (male), Choice movie liplock 2004
Won Young artist award Several 2004
Nominated Young artist award Best performance in feature film 2004[3]

[edit] Screenplay

The screenplay was written by:

  • Craig Titley (screen story)
  • Sam Harper
  • Joel Cohen
  • Alec Sokolow

[edit] References

  1. ^ Shaun Levy: Director of Cheaper by the Dozen. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  2. ^ Writers: Biographies/filmography Retrieved on May 12 2007
  3. ^ Awards won Retrieved on May 12 2007

[edit] External links

es:Más barato por docena fr:Treize à la douzaine (film, 2003) it:Una scatenata dozzina nl:Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) pt:Cheaper by the Dozen (filme) fi:Villi tusina sv:Fullt hus (film) tr:Sürüsüne Bereket id:Cheaper by the Dozen

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