bysterbusch

This version of 'Cheaper By the Dozen' is a predictable disappointment. Kenya Barris has once again provided us with another one of his closed minded, photocopied story lines in line with the typical Hollywood dribble. Concepts used in the movie are highly inaccurate and are fed from a culture that considers itself intelligent and enlightened. Something original would be a pleasant change. Shockingly, the only current mainstream Hollywood concept left out of this movie is the characters owning a classic car. Other than that, all of the currently necessary boxes were appropriately checked. Watching any of the previous versions of 'Cheaper By the Dozen' would be time better spent.

A decent cast made the movie bearable, but having all of the necessary Hollywood boxes checked early on was a turn-off. London was likely the biggest star of the movie as it's one of the worlds most amazing cities. The flow of the movie was decent and it's length was thankfully appropriate. I'm not sure who scored the movie, but the music didn't help make it any better. Having it available on Amazon Prime helped make the 'price' of watching more bearable but in the big picture, it would have been better for it to be a made for TV movie to have advertising pay the bills. If you've got nothing better to do, it will kill some time.

It ended better than it started but that doesn't make it a worthwhile watch. Austin Butler did a commendable job in his role but Tom Hanks was putrid in his role. Hanks is normally an excellent actor, so I can only surmise that the direction he received for the roll was misguided. The wandering, completely inaccurate accent was plain embarrassing. The first hour felt like I was spinning out on hallucinogenic mushrooms as there was almost no direction to this part of the movie. The last 1.5 hours was better and almost seemed like a different director. Should have been much, much shorter. I love classic cars, with a soft spot for Cadillacs, and this movie did not disappoint.