Part of the December Project: Film #16

I took a break from my studying for finals to put something on my TV. I was so mentally exhausted I just turned on AMC because they usually play something I like at this hour. Confident that the selection I made was a viable one, I threw the remote away and collapsed onto the couch, surrendering all physical movement for some escapism.

To my greatest nightmares, this was the film that was playing. I tried to get up, but it was too late.

And I watched the whole god damn thing. All 90 minutes plus commercials of it. All 90 minutes full of laughless situations with underealized comic segments. All 90 minutes of a general lack of conflict. All 90 minutes of boring nothingness. All 90 minutes of shouting.

I have a headache. The exact opposite of what escapism was intended for.

cheaper by the dozen rip off

Años 80 y 90, unos chavales emocionados le dicen a sus padres que se quieren dedicar al cine, a esa maravillosa industria creadora de sueños, donde todo es posible...

Luego llega 2005 y salen en los créditos de este esperpento, y la cara que se les debe de quedar a sus padres tiene que ser un puto cuadro.

cheaper by the dozen rip off

I like Quaid but couldn't get into this.

Lustige Familienkomödie,

“Deine, Meine und unsere” ist eine seichte vorhersehbare Komödie, an der man wirklich Spaß haben kann. Zwar bietet der Film für alte Filmhasen keinerlei Überraschungen und wirklich jede Szene ist für diesen Menschenschlag vorhersehbar, aber gerade jüngere Zuschauer mit noch nicht so viel Filmerfahrung werden über die recht einfach gestrickten Witze des Films lachen können.

Hierbei kommt dem Film zu Gute, dass er mit Dennis Quaid (Dragonheart, Traffic) und Rene Russo (Lethal Weapon 3, Die Abenteuer von Rocky und Bullwinkle) zwei Schauspieler aufbietet, die sich perfekt ergänzen und denen man abkauft, dass sie ein Paar sind. Auch die Darsteller der vielen Kinder können weitesgehend überzeugen. Zwar ist nicht jedes Kind ein kommender Superstar, aber mit einigen der Nachwuchsdarsteller ist mit Sicherheit in Zukunft noch zu rechnen.

Storytechnisch kann der Film wie geschrieben keine Bäume ausreißen. Wer sich allerdings auf die einfach gestrickte Geschichte einlässt, kann sich gut unterhalten lassen.

Funny family film similar to Cheaper by the Dozen.

Part of the December Project: Film #16

I took a break from my studying for finals to put something on my TV. I was so mentally exhausted I just turned on AMC because they usually play something I like at this hour. Confident that the selection I made was a viable one, I threw the remote away and collapsed onto the couch, surrendering all physical movement for some escapism.

To my greatest nightmares, this was the film that was playing. I tried to get up, but it was too late.

And I watched the whole god damn thing. All 90 minutes plus commercials of it. All 90 minutes full of laughless situations with underealized comic segments. All 90 minutes of a general lack of conflict. All 90 minutes of boring nothingness. All 90 minutes of shouting.

I have a headache. The exact opposite of what escapism was intended for.

Two single parents responsible for a total of eighteen children meet and fall in love, deciding to get married and combine their clans into one giant house of fun. There’s just one problem: He is a Coast Guard Admiral and a rigid disciplinarian, while she is a laid-back artist who doesn’t believe in restricting her children’s development. Sparks will fly in all directions and shenanigans will be gotten up to in a familial collision that is sure to include more pratfalls, pranks, and peculiar pet encounters than you can shake a stick at.

The rather charming 1968 original starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball gets dragged rudely into the 21st-Century in this unfunny travesty of a family film. Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo ought to know better, but it is no surprise to find director Raja Gosnell’s filmography gorged with the likes of Home Alone 3, Big Momma’s House, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. But seriously, do check out the original.

As a film made for America’s grandmothers, director Raja Gosnell’s remake of the 1968 Henry Fonda/Lucille Ball vehicle does exactly what it sets out to do. The set-up—widowed military man (Dennis Quaid) marries his high school flame, a free-spirited artist (Rene Russo), resulting in a family that blends his eight kids with her 10 kids—allows for sad-eyed children saying precious things about family members learning to love each other, and wacky slapstick by the boatload. Perhaps it should count for something that it’s done with a lack of crudity more common in the original’s 1968 than in contemporary cinema. But it should also count for something that it just plods along clumsily and with grinding, unfunny familiarity. If I become a grandmother, I’ll let you know if it changes my point of view.