Kids, craziness, domestic disaster and, yes, the Bakers’ weapon of choice – the family dog unleashed upon a pair of meat-soaked trousers – made up the mix that drew audiences to 2003’s CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN. The film became a box-office sensation and Steve Martin’s biggest-grossing comedy to date. Moviegoers embraced the film’s modern comic sensibility coupled with old-fashioned sentiment rooted in family values. CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN was a love letter to large families.
Given the film’s success, it’s not surprising that Twentieth Century Fox asked CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN director Shawn Levy and co-screenwriter Sam Harper to create a sequel. But all parties agreed that the new film had to be bigger in scale and expand upon themes explored in the first film.
Under Levy’s supervision, Harper began work on a script. When the film received a “green light” from the studio, Levy was unable to take the helm due to other commitments. But he still had ties to the characters he helped bring to life, and was eager to contribute to a new film about the Bakers. So Levy became a producer on CHEAPER 2. “The film takes this franchise to a new level,” he says. “It really ups the stakes in so many ways. It was important for CHEAPER 2 to have a large scale, and at the same time have something new to say. It has more stunts, bigger laughs, and another family, which adds a new dimension to the Bakers’ story.” With Levy producing, CHEAPER 2 needed a new director. Steve Martin had an idea: Why not ask Adam Shankman, who had directed Martin in the comedy smash “Bringing Down the House,” to helm the new film? “Adam’s a talented filmmaker with a great eye and ear for comedy,” says Martin. “He also has a terrific way of working with kids, and we were lucky to get him for CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2.”
Levy and the studio agreed that Shankman was a great choice. Indeed, in a short period of time, Shankman has become one of the industry’s most successful comedy directors, having helmed the hit films “The Pacifier” and “The Wedding Planner,” as well as “Bringing Down the House.”
Shankman couldn’t wait to get started on CHEAPER 2 and bring a new scale and vision to the Baker family dynamic. “I’d just done a film involving a bunch of kids [“The Pacifier”], but when I read the script for CHEAPER 2, I knew I’d have to do it – and that we’d have to top the first film. The set pieces are bigger than the original’s and that gave me a lot to sink my teeth into. It still has the heart, but it’s a bigger canvas. It’s CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN…on steroids!
“Shawn Levy did a great job with CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN,” Shankman continues. “I approached CHEAPER 2 with my own sense of humor, sense of family, and heart.”
The studio, Shankman and Levy agreed that all the actors who made up the Baker family in CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN had to return for the new film. Reassembling such a large cast could have been problematic, but all 14 of the 2003 film’s cast had such affection for their characters, that the reunion for the second film came together relatively easily.
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