Cheaper by the Dozen 2

What’s the Story?

It's summertime and Tom (Steve Martin) and his large brood head to the lake, where the college football coach engages in male competition with annoying childhood rival Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy). Self-conscious nerd Jimmy lords it over Tom that he's rich and married to trophy wife number three, Sarina (Carmen Electra). Tom soon turns as overbearing as Jimmy, ignoring longsuffering wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt) when she begs him not to set his kids to compete against Jimmy's brood. When they're not pressing their kids to compete against each other in various activities, the two dads hide out in the movie theater balcony, spying on a few of the kids involved in budding romances.

Is It Any Good?

Adam Shankman's sequel is unevenly paced and uninspired. Whereas dad Tom was sweet and bungling in the first film, here he's just manic and inept. While the dads arrange for any number of impromptu challenges, the children are relegated to providing reaction shots, even as they try to distance themselves from their fathers' shenanigans.

In one particularly ridiculous scene, Tom shows Jimmy the move where you yawn-n-stretch to put your arm around your date. They're mistaken for a gay couple by phobic fellow theatergoers ("Disgusting!"), leading to yet another spastic-dad joke. Dangling from the balcony during the ensuing mini-melee, Tom horrifies Sarah and demonstrates once again that he's a sensationally incompetent parent. It's no wonder that his kids are all outgrowing him.