Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
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The Baker family heads to a lake vacation where they must contend with a rival family and their own parenting styles.
The story
Two years after Tom Baker resigned from his head coaching position, his family undergoes many changes, including his daughter Lorraine's plans to move to New York and Nora's pregnancy. Feeling the family is breaking apart as the children grow up, Tom persuades them to take one last family vacation at Lake Winnetka in Wisconsin. However, they discover that their old cabin is owned by a man named Mike Romanow. Tom's old rival, Jimmy Murtaugh, his new wife Sarina, and his eight kids stay at the lake for the summer, leading to a series of incidents and a rivalry over parenting styles.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Two years after Tom Baker resigned from his head coaching position, his family undergoes many changes, including Lorraine's internship plans and Nora's pregnancy. To keep the family together, Tom takes them to Lake Winnetka in Wisconsin. They find their old cabin is now owned by Mike Romanow, who is friends with Tom's old rival, Jimmy Murtaugh. Jimmy flaunts his wealth and parenting success, leading to various incidents like a fireworks explosion and a shoplifting scandal. Angered by Jimmy's comments, Tom trains his kids for the Annual Labor Day Family Cup. After some internal family friction and a cinema altercation, the kids eventually reunite to compete. The Bakers and Murtaughs tie for first, leading to a tiebreaking canoe race. During the race, Nora goes into labor. While Jimmy initially refuses to help to win, he is eventually convinced by Sarina to assist the Bakers. The families work together to get Nora to the hospital. Afterward, Bud and Nora buy the cabin, and the family enjoys the rest of their vacation.
- First release year
- 2005
- Runtime (minutes)
- 94
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Adam Shankman
- Writers
- Sam Harper · writer
- Cast and characters
- Steve Martin · Tom Baker; Bonnie Hunt · Kate Gilbreth-Baker; Piper Perabo · Nora Baker-McNulty; Jonathan Bennett · Bud McNulty; Tom Welling · Charlie Baker; Hilary Duff · Lorraine Baker; Kevin G. Schmidt · Henry Baker; Alyson Stoner · Sarah Baker
- Genres
- family comedy
- Themes
- family dynamics; parenting styles; rivalry; reconciliation
- Premise and plot tags
- family; comedy; sequel; vacation; rivalry
- Franchise connections
- Cheaper by the Dozen
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics but was well-received by audiences, who gave it an A- on CinemaScore. It was a commercial success, grossing $135 million worldwide against a $60 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 34 · scale: 100 · review count: 24
- Awards and nominations
- Razzie Award · Worst Actress · Nomination; Razzie Award · Worst Supporting Actor · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was released in over 3,000 theaters.; The director of the first film, Shawn Levy, has a cameo as a hospital intern.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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