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Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Review

Release Date: Dec 21, 2005
Rated: some crude humor and mild language
Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.
Genres: Comedy, Family
Director:Adam Shankman
Cast:Steve Martin, Eugene Levy, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling. Full cast + crew

Movies.com Critics

1.0

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… ridiculousness … Read full review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

2.0

34

out of 100

Metascore^®
Generally unfavorable reviews
based on a weighted average of all
critic review scores.
30

out of 100

The New York Times
This messy blend of silly slapstick and oversentimentality probably won't please children, teenagers or adults.

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33

out of 100

Entertainment Weekly
What you have is less a sequel to a not-so-bad remake than yet another remake, this one of that not-so-great 1988 John Candy comedy "The Great Outdoors."

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40

out of 100

Variety Justin Chang
Bland, canned but studiously professional sequel retains most of the principals from Fox's family-friendly 2003 hit, including the ever-reliable Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt.

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40

out of 100

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
A textbook example of how not to mess with success, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is every bit as forced, synthetic, banal and mawkish as the first edition.

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50

out of 100

USA Today Mike Clark
Give Dozen a slight edge to the mournful "Yours, Mine & Ours" as a holiday season bottom-feeder, because Martin and Levy are better at slapstick than Dennis Quaid.

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70

out of 100

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A family comedy that is actually involving, even believable, and manages to be pretty funny too.

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75

out of 100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
What I liked the most about the second "Dozen," was another performance, the one by Alyson Stoner as their daughter Sarah. As a girl poised on the first scary steps of adolescence, she finds the kind of vulnerability and shy hope that Reese Witherspoon projected in "The Man in the Moon."

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See all Cheaper by the Dozen 2 reviews at Metacritic.com

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For Families provided by Common Sense Media

Iffy for 8+

Brain-numbing sequel to a bad 2003 movie. Beware.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the movie includes slapsticky roughhousing and stupid antics, including a clambake disrupted by fireworks and a tennis game disrupted by two young boys careening in a golf cart. Women (especially Carmen Electra) wear tight tops, with several shots focused on cleavage. There is homophobic humor and mild profanity. Parents aren't portrayed in the best light; fathers engage in obnoxious, childish competition.

Families can talk about the exaggerated competitiveness between the two fathers. How do the dads lose sight of their kids' interests? How do their wives and children see getting along as more fun than winning contests? How does the movie celebrate individuality in contrast to conformity?

The good stuff

Messages: Obnoxious, childish competition between two dads leads to splatty comedy and arguments; a girl shoplifts makeup; some kids pull pranks or pout/visibly resent their fathers' bad behaviors.

What to watch for

Violence and scariness: Stupid antics involving explosions (fireworks); rough sports-play (tennis, waterskiing, log-rolling that ends when dad falls and his crotch hits the log); one dad tells kid athletes to " on their throats and press down."
Sexy stuff: Carmen Electra wears tight tops; Bonnie Hunt borrows t-shirt that reads " Mama" jokes about awkwardness of preteen romance; dads act out homosexual attraction, soilciting homophobic responses; joke about " hormonal pregnant woman."
Language: Mild language.
Consumerism: Life cereal, Allure magazine, Nike t-shirt, Napoleon Dynamite<> poster in a movie theater.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue

Common Sense Media

An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology.

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Average Rating: 3.505

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