It may seem like there’s been a million Cheaper by the Dozen films, but there are actually only five. Two of those are sequels to the 2003 Steve Martin hit that was a remake of the 1950 classic. The fifth is the new Disney+ film starring Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union who find love after busted first marriages and blend families, which including their own two sets of twins has them with 10 children under one roof. It drops on the streaming service March 18.
First of all, Braff and Union are delightful together. Their seemingly effortless ability to work together as they raise double-digit children feels so organic. Honestly, besides casting those 10 kids, the entire film rides on their performance being believable or the entire film doesn’t work. It does work and yes, there is a ton of predictability to it, but overall Cheaper by the Dozen 2022 is a nice time for the family to gather around the TV and celebrate familial love and all the ups and downs that come along with that.
Braff plays Paul Baker, a chef with a passion for breakfast food who opens his own restaurant that, you guessed it, only serves breakfast fare all day long. Union is Zoey Baker, who is Paul’s partner in multiple ways. She’s as much a part of the restaurant as Paul is, and even the children work at the business as well. He has invented this sauce that is so deliciously described in the film that this writer wants to buy some! So, he is approached by a couple of women he calls the “Barbies” about the idea of bottling that sauce and selling it in restaurants.
Now if they were to have some more money coming in, perhaps the Bakers could move into a bigger home and stretch out a little bit. There are potential lessons to learn here that is important for any child to hear, such as bigger is not always better and that money is great, especially with a family of 12, but if any member of that clan is unhappy then this is not a good situation for all of us.
Cheaper by the Dozen is predictable, to the point where someone or something is introduced and immediately your brain goes, “that’s going to be trouble.” Every single one of those came back as, you guessed it, conflict. Every story needs conflict, it’s in the DNA of storytelling. It also needs to feel natural and feel like something advertised like a big neon sign blinking in the night.
Speaking to the film’s incredible charisma, even though that predictability runs through the entire span of the film when those credits roll—that innate desire to respond to have the corners of your mouth move upward is impossible to ignore.
The ensemble of the children is all fabulous. It’s easy to imagine that these 10 kids are siblings, by blood or by marriage. They have each other’s back, yet they still can argue amongst themselves with the best of them. That’s what brothers and sisters do. They always say, “don’t work with children or animals.” Well, how about 10 children?! What is so stellar is that each is given their due and every single one comes off as a three-dimensional character and nobody suffers from feeling like an add-on to get to the number “10.”
Union is also a producer on the film, so she is vested on multiple levels. There’s an element of racial education here as well that truly comes into focus when the Bakers talk about moving to Calabasas. With all the headlines of Black Lives Matter these last few years and the rights of people of color to live without fear of the police works its way into Cheaper by the Dozen in the rawest of ways.
Zoey’s first husband is a recently retired NFL three-time MVP and even though Paul did most of the raising of his children, there’s a point in the film where he wants his children back because Paul can’t know what it’s like to look like he does. Yes, he is black, and he reports being pulled over by police in every city he played in, and it is terrifying. Timon Kyle Durrett (as Dom Clayton) just nails the scene and provides an education. Even in a Disney movie aimed at families, that is sorely needed in this country.
Now, for her other role in the film, as an actress, Union is divine. She is a mom of 10 and someone who keenly knows what she wants out of life, especially after seemingly having the dream of being the wife of an NFL superstar and all the luxe that accompanies that. Her having that perspective is another key to this entire film.
With the possibility of Paul finally finding success, it would have been easy for screenwriters Jenifer Rice-Genzuk and Kenya Barris to have the Bakers ride off into a Calabasas sunset with utter glee. Life is messy and although Cheaper by the Dozen is a family feel-good movie, the film never shies away from the more difficult aspects of living in 2022.
Braff, after winning over a legion of fans for his work on the hit sitcom Scrubs, has found success as a filmmaker (Garden State, Wish I Was Here, Going in Style, and even an episode of Ted Lasso). As an actor, he has had the freedom to be a part of many projects, from the large scale, Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful to the smaller end of the spectrum—such as his role in TV’s BoJack Horseman. He has grown as a thespian as he moved into more mature roles, such as playing the parent of 10 children—a long way from being a single, footloose, and fancy-free intern doctor.
Witnessing him in Cheaper by the Dozen is pure joy. One can easily see why those kids love him, especially those that are not biologically his own. His Paul is funny, approachable, and sometimes even wise. Braff is perfect for this part and has made it uniquely his own. The veteran actor further illustrates why he is the part of the cult hit that was Scrubs who has kept their name in the mix in Hollywood since it went off the air just over a decade ago.
Grade: B