The third incarnation of the venerable story of a blended family of twelve, Cheaper by the Dozen, starring Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union as the heads of house, plays out as predictably as one might expect heading into it, but there is an earnestness to the family dynamic at work that makes the whole business worthwhile once all is said and done.
Adapted from the novel by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, the film tells the tale of a family, the Bakers, as they navigate the waters of their now wildly frenetic life as they try to keep their family business – an all-day breakfast restaurant – running smoothly.
Of course, this is easier said than done as there are numerous obstacles to the family’s enduring happiness, the grandest of which is a move to a sleek, gated community that portends a higher station in life for the young entrepreneurs but threatens to curtail their happy family life.
Director Gail Lerner, working from a script by Kenya Barris and Jenifer Rice-Genzuk, delivers a far more family-centric version of the story than the heavier on the physical comedy 2003 edition directed by Shawn Levy and starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt. In fact, the newer film falls more in line with the Walter Lang-directed version from 1950 starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy. There is definitely more of a familial comradery dynamic at work here as there was in the two series created by Barris and Rice-Genzuk – Black-ish (2014-2022) and Grown-ish (2018-2022) – than in the previous filmic renditions of the story, benefitting the film greatly.
While Braff and Union do a fine job of keeping the film together as the parents of the Baker family, the various kids that make up the “Bakers Dozen” are each afforded their own individual chances to take over the film without becoming too overbearing or treacly.
Although the whole of Cheaper by the Dozen may feel as though it may play better as a longer piece, such as a television series, there is an honest connection present amongst this family that allows the familiarity of the story to transcend its confines and simply be an enjoyable bit of family entertainment.
Mike Tyrkus
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