Okay, so it's not as good as the book. And actually, other than the title and the fact that it involves a family with twelve kids, it bears no resemblance to the book at all. But "Cheaper by the Dozen", which stars Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt as the parents of a REALLY big family, is sweet and sorta funny and carries a nice message about spending time with your kids. And in the end that was good enough for me.

The Bakers never set out to have twelve children, it just sort of happened, and as the movie opens they are living in chaotic but harmonious discord in a rambling old house in the country. But then Dad gets the job of a lifetime, and the whole brood moves into the city/suburbs, where the kids don't fit in and are miserable and the parents begin to fight and everything starts to fall apart. And them Mom goes on a book tour. Craziness ensues.

If you are a pre-teen, teen, or, like me, twenty-three and sad, you will recognize almost every kid in this movie from Disney and WB shows. Tween fave Hilary Duff isn't given much to do and is wasted, but "Smallville"'s Tom Welling is affecting as the oldest son, even if his plot line is a little ridiculous. (I mean, there is no high school, anywhere in America, where a guy as impossibly gorgeous as Welling would be an outcast. We know a hottie when we see one.)

"Cheaper by the Dozen" doesn't have any really big laughs, but many small ones, and you may get teary-eyed at the end. A pretty good family flick and recommended for a Saturday matinee at the movies.<P(...)