Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Encyclopedia
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a 2005 film produced by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

. It is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

 to the family comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 Cheaper by the Dozen
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003 film)
Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American comedy film about a family with 12 children . The film takes its title from the 1948 biography of the same name of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth and their 12 children, but other than the title and the concept of a family with 12 children,...

(2003). Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Shawn Adam Levy is a Canadian-American actor, director and producer who directed the comedy films Big Fat Liar, Just Married, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum, Date Night, and the sci-fi movie Real Steel...

, the director of the first film, did not return as director for this sequel, which was instead directed by Adam Shankman
Adam Shankman
Adam Michael Shankman is an American film director, producer, dancer, actor, and choreographer. He has been a judge on the television program So You Think You Can Dance since Season 3. He began his professional career in musical theater, and was a dancer in music videos for Paula Abdul and Janet...

 (The Pacifier
The Pacifier
The Pacifier is a 2005 comedy film directed by Adam Shankman and written by Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant. It stars Vin Diesel, Lauren Graham, Faith Ford, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Morgan York, Carol Kane, and Brad Garrett. The film was released in March 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures, and earned...

). Levy was a producer of the film and made an appearance as a hospital intern in the movie. Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

, Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Lynne Hunt is an American actress, comedian, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host.- Early life :...

, Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...

, Piper Perabo
Piper Perabo
Piper Lisa Perabo is a Golden Globe Award nominated American stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Perabo was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary Charlotte , a physical therapist, and George William Perabo, a professor of poetry at Ocean...

, Alyson Stoner
Alyson Stoner
Alyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...

 and Tom Welling
Tom Welling
Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....

 reprise their roles as members of the twelve-child Baker family. Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...

 co-stars as the patriarch of a rival family of 8 children. Carmen Electra
Carmen Electra
Tara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer...

 portrays Levy's trophy wife
Trophy wife
Trophy wife is an expression used to describe a wife, usually young and attractive, who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband, who is often older and affluent.-History:The term's etymological origins are disputed...

.

The film was shot in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...

's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Canada and on Stoney Lake in Burleigh Falls, Ontario. It includes the book Green Eggs and Ham
Green Eggs and Ham
Green Eggs and Ham is a best-selling and critically acclaimed book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2001, according to Publishers Weekly, it was the fourth-best-selling English-language children's book of all time....

and the film Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...

.

Plot

The Baker family begins to undergo many changes, beginning with Lorraine (Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...

) and her desire to study in New York. Their oldest daughter Nora (Piper Perabo
Piper Perabo
Piper Lisa Perabo is a Golden Globe Award nominated American stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Perabo was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary Charlotte , a physical therapist, and George William Perabo, a professor of poetry at Ocean...

) is now married to Bud McNulty (Jonathan Bennett) and pregnant, but the couple intend to move to Houston because of Bud's new job promotion.

Feeling that the family is breaking apart as the children grow up and move away, Tom (Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

) persuades the entire family to take one last family vacation all together at Lake Winnetka. Tom's old rival Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...

) and his large family (with "only" eight kids) are also there for the summer. Jimmy constantly flaunts his wealth and success to Tom, as well of the accomplishments of his children, often suggesting to Tom that the Baker children are less successful because of Tom's parenting style. The Baker kids get into many accidents, many of which are accidental. Some examples are short scenes, such as the scene where Mark Baker (Forrest Landis
Forrest Landis
Forrest Landis is an American child actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles of Mark Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen and Rhett Loud in Flightplan...

), along with Kenny Murtaugh, crash into a tennis court with a golf cart and ruin the court, Sarah Baker (Alyson Stoner
Alyson Stoner
Alyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...

) stealing merchandise from a gift shop, and Mark Baker accidentally setting a backpack of fireworks on fire, causing widespread panic, especially when the backpack of fireworks is thrown into a boat, igniting the boat's engine and causing it to explode.

Jimmy again starts the topic that Tom needs to use a firmer hand on his kids. Tom is angered by this and they decide to settle the matter using the Annual Family Cup. Tom trains the kids for days, not realizing that they are miserable. Soon Sarah and Elliott Murtaugh (Taylor Lautner) go on a date at a Movie theatre watching Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...

, where they are spied on by their fathers, leading an argument between the two and humiliating their children. Sarah is furious and refuses compete for her father in the "stupid cup!" while Elliott rebels against his father and continues to spend time with Sarah.

Everyone, including Kate, is angry with Tom; for not only spying on Sarah, but for also ruining the entire trip by his competitiveness with the Murtaugh family. Tom goes to the Annual Family Games to compete for the cup with Nigel and Kyle (the only two who are willing to go while the others abandon Tom). Kate and the rest of the family soon show up, showing that they forgive Tom and are willing to compete for the cup. Near the end of the games, the Bakers and the Murtaughs work together to get Nora to the hospital as she goes into labor. While Bud, Lorraine and Kate go with Nora in the emergency room, Tom, Jimmy and the rest of the kids wait in the waiting room. While talking to Jimmy, Tom realizes that he has to let his kids grow, but wherever they go, they will always be with him; and he will always be with them. Nora gives birth to a baby boy whom they name Tom in honor of her father, who has shown them "there is no way to be a perfect parent, but a million ways to be a really good one."

The movie ends with the Murtaughs and the Bakers having a barbecue at their cottage. While Tom and Kate are dancing on the end of the boardwalk, it breaks lose from the dock and begins to float away, but the two ignore it and continue dancing while the credits roll.

The Bakers

  • Steve Martin
    Steve Martin
    Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

     as Tom Baker, the main protagonist. In the first film he is seen as the typical family man, but his competitive and protective side emerges in the second film as he feels the need to keep his family together.

  • Bonnie Hunt
    Bonnie Hunt
    Bonnie Lynne Hunt is an American actress, comedian, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host.- Early life :...

     as Kate Baker, Tom Baker's wife. While she's supportive of Tom's efforts to keep the family close, she also sees that Tom's attempts are also pushing their children away from him.

  • Piper Perabo
    Piper Perabo
    Piper Lisa Perabo is a Golden Globe Award nominated American stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Perabo was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary Charlotte , a physical therapist, and George William Perabo, a professor of poetry at Ocean...

     as Nora Baker-McNulty, now married and pregnant. She is seen as more involved with her family but is still keen on getting away. She is much more mature and independent. Breaking up with her old boyfriend Hank in the first movie, she is now married to a kinder man named Bud McNulty.

  • Tom Welling
    Tom Welling
    Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....

     as Charlie Baker, now broken up with his girlfriend Beth, finds a connection with Anne Murtaugh, when they struggle with what they want to do versus their fathers' expectations of them.

  • Hilary Duff
    Hilary Duff
    Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...

     as Lorraine Baker, more fashion forward, still obsessed with beauty and perfection, she is seen as the girly-girl type of the family and is still resentful of nature. With her recent graduation from high school, she wants to attend school in New York.

  • Kevin G. Schmidt
    Kevin Schmidt
    Kevin Gerard Schmidt , also credited as Kevin G. Schmidt and Kevin Schmidt, is an American actor and vlogger. He is best known for playing Noah Newman on The Young and the Restless and as Henry Griffin in Unnatural History...

     as Henry Baker, not so obsessed with his clarinet anymore but still musically talented

  • Alyson Stoner
    Alyson Stoner
    Alyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...

     as Sarah Baker, who becomes insecure of her tomboyish nature and love of sports when she develops a crush on Elliot Murtaugh.

  • Jacob Smith
    Jacob Smith (actor)
    Jonathan Jacob Charles William Smith is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role in the film Cheaper by the Dozen and its 2005 sequel.-Life and career:...

     as Jake Baker, loving the skateboards even though time has gone by. He is now seen as much older but still immature and obsessed with practical jokes.

  • Forrest Landis
    Forrest Landis
    Forrest Landis is an American child actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles of Mark Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen and Rhett Loud in Flightplan...

     as Mark Baker, the nature junky and is still vulnerable, agreeing to anything the mischievous enemies can think of.

  • Morgan York
    Morgan York
    Morgan Elizabeth York is an American actress, best known for her role as Kim Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2, and also her recent role as Sarah in Hannah Montana.- Career :...

     as Kimberly Baker, one of the twins, still a genius and now more focused on computers and logic rather than the immaturity she and her sister shared.

  • Liliana Mumy
    Liliana Mumy
    Liliana Berry Davis Mumy is an American teen actress and voice actress. Her most notable roles are as Jessica Baker in the Cheaper by the Dozen movies with Steve Martin, Lucy Miller in The Santa Clause sequels with Tim Allen, Mertle Edmonds on the Disney Channel original series Lilo & Stitch: The...

     as Jessica Baker, still a fire cracker, very much like her twin sister.

  • Blake Woodruff
    Blake Woodruff
    Blake Michael Woodruff is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baker in the film Cheaper by the Dozen.Woodruff has two older sisters, Ayla and Raina, and a younger brother, Trevor. He decided that he wanted to be an actor at the age of six, and was cast in Shawn Levy's Cheaper...

     as Mike Baker, still mischievous and little but hilarious.

  • Shane Kinsman
    Shane Kinsman
    Shane Kinsman is an American child actor who typically plays a rambunctious twin alongside his identical twin brother Brent. He played Kyle Baker in the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen and its 2005 sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2...

     as Kyle Winnetka Baker, the second group of twins now older, more understanding of his family's issues.

  • Brent Kinsman as Nigel Lake Baker, same as twin brother. He and his brother still share a close relationship with Tom, unhindered by Tom's attempts to keep everyone close.

  • Jonathan Bennett
    Jonathan Bennett (actor)
    Jonathan D. Bennett is an American actor best known for playing Aaron Samuels in the 2004 film Mean Girls, the television series Veronica Mars, and All My Children.-Early life:...

     as Bud McNulty, Nora's husband and her son's father . He is seen as mushy and lovey-dovey but shows his manly side during the birth of his son.

The Murtaughs

  • Eugene Levy
    Eugene Levy
    Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...

     as Jimmy Murtaugh, the main antagonist. He is seen as competitive and controlling of his children's life.

  • Carmen Electra
    Carmen Electra
    Tara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer...

     as Sarina Murtaugh, a former actress and Jimmy's third wife. She is seen as very open and exciting. She loves to wear revealing clothes showing her wild side but still a good mother to her step kids.

  • Jaime King
    Jaime King
    Jaime King is an American actress and model. In her modeling career and early film roles, she used the names Jamie King and James King, which was a childhood nickname given to King by her parents, because her agency already represented another Jaime — the older, then more famous model Jaime...

     as Anne Murtaugh, the lovely, former hideous, daughter of Jimmy. She is nicknamed Superstar by her dad for being the most successful child of all eight and is also her father's favorite, against her wishes. She gets a tattoo as a sign she resents her dad's expectations of her.

  • Shawn Roberts
    Shawn Roberts
    -Life and career:Roberts was born in Stratford, Ontario on April 2, 1984. He started with playing the wolf in a school play of "Little Red Riding Hood" award-winning screenwriter Robert Forsythe and his friend's father helped him get a role in Emily of New Moon...

     as Calvin Murtaugh, handsome and tall, but also extremely air headed and proud, just like his father.

  • Robbie Amell
    Robbie Amell
    Robert Patrick "Robbie" Amell is a Canadian actor, who is best known for his role on the Nickelodeon series True Jackson, VP, Picture This, and Fred Jones in the television films Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster...

     as Daniel Murtaugh, he is similar to Calvin.

  • Taylor Lautner as Elliot Murtaugh, an eight grade honor student who plays several sports, musically attuned, and very kind. He is quite innocent and lovable. He has a crush on Sarah Baker.

  • Alexander Conti
    Alexander Conti
    Alexander Biagio Contini, born 1 September 1993, is a Canadian actor. Alex has worked in film and television since the age of six.-Early life:Conti was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada of Italian and Brazilian heritage....

     as Kenneth Murtaugh, a frenemy
    Frenemy
    "Frenemy" is a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" that can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner who is simultaneously a competitor and rival. The term is used to describe personal, geopolitical, and commercial relationships both among individuals and groups or institutions...

     of Mark, getting Mark in to trouble constantly.

  • Melanie Tonello as Becky Murtaugh, she is not seen much throughout the film, but like her siblings, a classic over-achiever.

  • Madison Fitzpatrick as Robin Murtaugh, she and her sister are always seen together though they are also not introduced very much.

  • Courtney Fitzpatrick as Lisa Murtaugh, she is the same as her twin sister.

Production

The film was shot in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...

's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Canada. The scenes at Lakeside High School were filmed at St. Andrew's College
St. Andrew's College (Aurora, Ontario)
St. Andrew's College, also known as SAC, is an independent school founded in 1899 located in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. It is a university-preparatory school for boys in grades 6 to 12, with a focus on academic achievement, athletics, and leadership development...

. The lake and cottage scenes were located at Rockwood, Ontario, and Burleigh Falls, Ontario on Stoney Lake.

Soundtrack

01 I Wish – Stevie Wonder

02 Graduation Day Song – Joseph L. Altruda

03 Mexicali Mondays – Christopher Lightbody and Robert Steinmiller

04 What If – Gina Rene

05 Martini Lounge – David Sparkman

06 Drinks on the House – Daniel May

07 Big Sky Lullaby – Daniel May

08 Someday - Sugar Ray

09 Express Yourself – Jason Mraz

10 Michael Finnegan – Traditional

11 Will the Circle Be Unbroken – Traditional

12 Why Can’t We Be Friends – War

13 Die Walküre – Richard Wagner

14 Theme from Jaws – John Williams

15 Mallin – Tree Adams

16 Under Pressure – Queen and David Bowie

17 Music from ‘Ice Age’ – David Newman

18 Holiday – Madonna

19 Sunday Morning (Acoustic Version) – Maroon 5

20 Bridal Chorus – Richard Wagner

Reception

Reviews for the film were overwhelmingly negative. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 ranked Cheaper by the Dozen 2 98th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s, with a rating of 7% based on 89 reviews of the film.
Critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

, however, gave this film a positive 3/4 stars, stating "As I watched this sequel, a certain good feeling began to make itself known. Yes, the movie is unnecessary. However, it is unnecessary at a higher level of warmth and humor than the recent remake Yours, Mine, and Ours
Yours, Mine and Ours (2005 film)
Yours, Mine & Ours is a 2005 film starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo. Directed by Raja Gosnell, it was released on November 23, 2005, and is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name, starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda...

."

The film received two Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actress (Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...

) and Worst Supporting Actor (Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...

).
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