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Cheaper by the Dozen is the kind of movie that I mocked all the way through but secretly enjoyed. It is silly, innocuous, totally commercial fluff, but impossible to hate. It really gets by because of the casting. Even with wafer-thin material like this, Martin is always funny - he has a way of turning even the lamest line into an inspired moment, his relentless mugging always endearing but never annoying. And Hunt reminds us why her TV show has lasted for two seasons despite not being very good - because she's in it. They bounce off each other perfectly, and are the most believable thing in the film . That they would become on-screen husband and wife is not just great casting, but a cinematic inevitability.

The only problem? There are so many darn kids none of them register. ("The worst thing about this house is the noise!") Hilary Duff is annoying as usual, and Tom Welling (of TV's Smallville) does not only look nothing like Martin or Hunt (and is too old for the role), but is saddled with a dull subplot that fails to generate much interest. Same goes for oldest daughter Piper Perabo and her ditzy boyfriend Ashton Kutcher, admirably attempting to spoof his pretty boy image - they aren't very interesting. Also falling flat are the expected slapstick scenes (serving breakfast for twelve, mobs of kids destroying furniture, etc.), which are cute but not as much fun as the zingy one-liners and the genuine pathos director Shawn Levy is occasionally able to wring out of the strained script. And the film doesn't play fair with its assumption that a houseful of brats is preferable to a single-child family.

So Cheaper by the Dozen is only at its best when Hunt and Martin are onscreen. But that still ain't a bad way to waste 98 minutes. Mindless, brainless fun for the whole family.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Cheaper by the Dozen looks terrific. Fox Home Entertainment offers up both 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 4:3 open matte versions on opposite sides of the disc, and the picture quality often stuns. You would not think of this type of film as a visual tour de force, but it is wonderfully bright and vibrant. The print is pristine, colors leap off the screen and blacks are deep and solid. The sense of detail is also lush, giving the film a consistently three-dimensional appearance that is up there with the best of them. Also a plus is the lack of any apparent edge enhancement and no compression artifacts save for a few slight instances during long fades/dissolves. But why nitpick - Cheaper by the Dozen looks great.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Less thrilling than the transfer, the Dolby 5.1 surround track included here is fairly typical for a mainstream comedy. Largely front heavy, there is some nice stereo separation across the fronts, especially the poppy songs and score, but surround use is only average. I noticed a few discrete effects but ambiance is sporadic. However, frequency response is sharp across the entire range and the .1 LFE is punchy. A perfectly fine if unmemorable soundtrack.

Also included are French and Spanish 2.0 surround dubs, plus English and Spanish subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Calling it a tale of two commentaries, neither of them particularly enjoyable. The first is with director Shawn Levy, and I feel bad saying that it was kinda scary. This guy, himself a former actor, takes this really seriously, filling us in on all the technical trickery that went into making Cheaper by the Dozen: sky replacement, CGI-ing out Bonnie Hunt, the lighting, the sound effects, ad nauseam. But I will just be honest and ask, does anyone really care? I'm not sure who has been dying to find out all of the behind-the-scenes drama that went into Cheaper by the Dozen. Next is another screen-specific commentary with the Baker kids, or at least five of the youngest ones: Kevin Schmidt, Liliana Mumy, Alyson Stoner, Jacob Smith and Morgan York. If you have ever had to babysit a gaggle of kids, you know what you are in for with this one. These tots are cute, but unfortunately they are all so young they don't have anything to say other than laughing at seeing themselves onscreen or giggling. A cute idea, but the commentary equivalent of those home movies your neighbors force you to suffer through.

Next up is the much-better Director's Viewfinder: Creating a Fictional Family. Running just five minutes, it doesn't reinvent the wheel but is fairly quick and painless. Again, Levy takes what is just a cinematic puff pastry pretty seriously, but at least we get some behind-the-scenes footage to liven things up. Flip the disc over to the full screen side and you'll also find Orphans: Deleted and Extended Scenes. There are five cut vignettes, all presented in non- anamorphic widescreen but they look fairly good anyway. There is nothing here all that memorable (although "The Nanny" bit is pretty funny), and Levy provides optional commentary that tells us why he cut them. There is no "Play All" function.

Rounding it out is Inside Look, which is just a single trailer for next summer's big-screen CGI reinvention of Garfield. Oh, the horror.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

There are no PC enhanced extras on the disc.

Parting Thoughts