Kate and Tom Baker have 12 kids between the ages of 4 and 22. While Kate is working on her book, she shares her backstory on how she met Tom and when she had each child. In birth order, there is Nora, Charlie, Lorraine, Henry, Sarah, Jake, Mark, Jessica, Kim, Mike, Nigel, and Kyle.

The oldest, Nora, lives in an apartment with her boyfriend, Hank. The rest live with each other and their parents in Midland, Illinois.

When the kids get ready for school, they all sit down for breakfast. But Mark’s frog, Beans, is on a light above the kitchen table. He bounces all over the food and causes a mess.

Later that day, Tom meets his old friend, Shake, at a stadium. Shake offers Tom to coach a football team in Evanston, Illinois. Tom accepts the offer.

However, his kids are against moving because they have a life and friends in Midland. Yet they end up having no choice.

After a sad goodbye to all their friends, including Charlie’s girlfriend, the Baker family moves to Evanston. Despite how they felt before, the children are excited to choose their own rooms.

In addition, they meet their neighbors, Tina and Bill Shenk, as well as their son, Dylan. The kids enjoy playing with Dylan, who decides to invite all of them to his birthday party.

At some point, Kate is called to come to New York City for 2 days to do a book tour for her upcoming book. But she is hesitant to leave Tom with the children since she’s worried that he’ll have a tough time. Yet Tom thinks he can handle it.

However, he constantly struggles with getting the kids under control. So, he has Nora babysit them.

For some reason, the children hate Hank. So, they come up with a prank to hurt him. They make him trip into a dirty pool, so that all his clothes would need to be washed. Once they’re dry, Sarah decides to soak Hank’s underwear in ground meat. That prompts the family dog, Gunner, to bite Hank in the crotch. Of course, the kids get in trouble for it.

Meanwhile, Kate’s stay in New York gets extended to 2 weeks. She constantly calls Tom, who tells her that he’s doing fine with the children, even when they’re chaotic.

But things take a turn for the worst when the kids misbehave or fight at school. As a result, Tom grounds them, meaning that they are not allowed to go to Dylan’s birthday party anymore.

Regardless of that, though, they find a way to sneak out of the house and to the event. And Tom is in the living room holding a meeting for his football team.

Shortly after the kids arrive at Dylan’s party, a snake escapes from a gift box (one of them packed it). Panic erupts, and Tom figures out that the children are missing. So, he has his players take each child of his out of the Shenks’ backyard.

But Tom flies out of a deflating bounce house and accidentally lands on Dylan, injuring him. While at the hospital, Tina angrily tells Tom that she will never allow his kids to play with Dylan again.

Kate also finds out about what’s been happening at home. So, she cancels her book tour and goes back to her house.

In spite of that, though, the family dynamics worsen. But can that be fixed?

Regardless of how many people were not too pleased by this film, I actually had a good time watching it.  That is thanks to its lighthearted tone, fast pacing, and humor. I laughed a lot throughout this movie.

One funny moment is when a few of the Baker kids play a sad song on their instruments quite badly as the family is packing their car to move out of Midland. It reflects the children’s dissatisfaction with leaving their original home and having to bid their friends goodbye.

Another humorous moment is when everyone at Dylan’s birthday party panics because of the snake and Tom struggles to get Sarah out of the bounce house as it deflates. I could go on with how many parts made me laugh.

Although the plot is not all straightforward or linear, it was still easy to understand what was happening. I’d say the story was mainly driven by Kate’s goal to publish her book about her family.

I do admire having actress Bonnie Hunt portray Kate as a kind and gentle mother. She played the same kind of role in 1992’s Beethoven. Other famous actors include Hilary Duff as Lorraine, Alyson Stoner as Sarah, and Ashton Kutcher as Hank.

And of course, let’s not forget about Steve Martin as Tom. Like in his other comedy films, Steve Martin nailed his part with his humorous actions and attitudes, even if they weren’t realistic.

That being said, I do think he was a bit too old for the part. Kate hinted that Tom was 47. But Steve Martin was in his late 50s when this movie was made. And I think he looked at least 65.

Yet that’s a minor flaw. Overall, I enjoyed Cheaper by the Dozen and I would gladly recommend it to both kids and adults. 

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.