How Cheaper by the Dozens Remake Compares to the Original Film

How Cheaper by the Dozen’s Remake Compares to the Original Film

Let’s look at how the Cheaper by the Dozen reboot with Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union compares to the 2003 movie with Steve Martin and Tom Welling.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

How Cheaper by the Dozens Remake Compares to the Original Film

WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for the Cheaper by the Dozen remake, now streaming on Disney+.

Cheaper by the Dozen was first adapted in 1950, two years after Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey’s book was released. Decades later, the 2003 film starring Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling and Piper Perabo shot the property back into the limelight, and its success garnered a sequel two years later. Now, Disney has remade the movie for a new generation once again, only this time, it’s not just kids and teens but parents as well. With that in mind, let’s see how the 2022 version of Cheaper by the Dozen compares to its most notable predecessor.

The main similarity between the two films is the family still being known as the Bakers. The 2003 film used the name, changing it from the Gilbreths, and now, it’s what Paul Baker (Zach Braff) uses for his business — Baker’s Breakfast — which serves breakfast all day and peddles homemade sauces and jams.

How Cheaper by the Dozens Remake Compares to the Original Film

Another common thread is the fathers following their dreams. In 2003, Tom left Midland, Illinois, uprooting the family to move to Evanston to coach his alma mater. However, he realized it cut into his family time, and seeing as they weren’t adjusting well to the move, he opted to head back to make them happy. The new film saw Paul move from LA to Calabasas when investors decided to buy into his sauce and restaurant business. And, just like Tom, he didn’t like how the business model was changing into a franchise and the fact that his family wasn’t acclimatizing well, so he moved them back.

See also  Modern Family Characters Ranked From Most To Least Likely To Die In A Horror Movie

In terms of differences, the Baker name also ties in. It’s a play on the concept of a baker’s dozen, which is tied to the old days when bakers added one extra piece for customers, going from 12 to 13. In 2003, Tom and his wife, Kate, had 12 children, but in the new movie, Paul and his wife, Zoey (Gabrielle Union), have nine kids, putting the number at 11. The dozen was rounded out by Paul’s ex-wife, Kate, who stayed with them and helped out.

Another major difference was that, in 2003, Kate got caught up in the whirlwind of her book deal, and she neglected the family a bit, causing some fallout. The new movie, though, has Zoey at home, doing all she can to keep the family together. 2003 also had older siblings in Nora and the football player, Charlie, trying to help their parents to no avail, while the new one really focused on a much younger crew, with the oldest, Deja, just being a high school basketball player who couldn’t get her life together.

The big social message in 2003 was the Baker kids standing up against bullying. However, the reboot is more nuanced and timely with the Baker kids being of mixed ethnicities. It allowed commentary on white privilege in how Zoey’s ex, Dom, got worried Paul didn’t understand how Black children had to be raised around white people who would always see them as threats.

In addition, Haresh was mistreated at school for being Indian, while Deja was benched to give an undeserving rich girl a spot on the team because her family paid for the gym. These topics gave the reboot a relevant vibe, with Paul and Zoey adapting to face a society that wasn’t ready to handle their kaleidoscope of a family, unlike their predecessors who dealt with far less serious things.

See also  John & Abigail Marston Had A Daughter They Barely Talk About

See how the old film compares to the new one, with both Cheaper By the Dozen movies available on Disney+.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/cheaper-by-the-dozen-2022-2003-comparison/

Movies -