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By CityThe Film Update
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The Film UpdateRumor Has It, Munich, and Cheaper by the Dozen 2
2006-01-03
Article Written by: Sami Jo
As theaters were bombarded with new movies over the holidays, the box office numbers show some interesting results. Steven Spielberg’s latest film, Munich, barely ranked coming in at nine out of 10 and was surprisingly beat out by both Rob Reiner’s romantic comedy Rumor Has It (ranked 8th) and Adam Shankman’s family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (ranked 4th).
Based on actual events, Munich tells the story of what happened after eleven Israeli athletes were murdered by terrorists at the 1972 Olympics. Eric Bana (Troy) plays Avner, a Mossad agent (Israeli intelligence agency) sent to kill the men who were involved in planning and executing the attack. The film follows Avner and his men as they set out to complete their mission and illustrates the life of an assassin. While the film is interesting, one expects more clarity from Spielberg. The complexity of the situation didn’t make an easy transfer to film. Geoffrey Rush (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) is featured in a supporting role, playing Ephraim, an organizer in the Mossad retaliation.
On a lighter note, Rumor Has It cleverly tells the story of the family that was the inspiration for the book and film, The Graduate. Jennifer Aniston (Derailed) stars as Sarah, a confused woman who travels home to Pasadena with her fiancée Jeff (Mark Ruffalo, (13 Going On 30) to attend her little sister’s wedding – Mena Suvari (American Pie) gives a fantastic performance as Annie. Shirley Maclaine (In Her Shoes) perfectly portrays the sarcastic and bitter Mrs. Robinson character, Katharine Richelieu and Kevin Costner (The Upside of Anger) is Beau Burroughs, the man who gets to sleep with three generations of women in the same family. While the film has no factual basis, the film presents a brilliant new twist to the “based on…” trend in cinema. However, even with an ingenious idea, the film doesn’t surpass good in any area, including acting and final product.
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a better than average sequel that brings back nearly all of the faces from the 2003 film. This time, the Baker family goes back to their vacation spot on a lake in Wisconsin to get the family together one last time before their third child leaves the nest. At the lake, Tom Baker (Steve Martin) runs into an old rival Jimmy Murtaugh, played by Eugene Levy (American Pie). The two become passive-aggressive with each other until finally agreeing to have their families compete against each other at an annual field-day/ summer camp-like competition. Subplots include romances that develop between both older and younger members of each family. Fans of Eugene Levy may find that his character in this film isn’t as funny as the characters we are use to seeing him play (I’m blaming the script, not the actor), but fun performances are given by Bonnie Hunt, who returns as mom Kate, Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) as the pregnant oldest daughter Nora, Tom Welling (The WB’s “Smallville”) as college-boy Charlie, Hilary Duff (Raise Your Voice) as high-school graduate and fashion intern Lorraine, Alyson Stoner as tom-boy Sarah with her first crush, and Carmen Electra as Jimmy’s wife, Sarina. Cheaper by the Dozen 2 will provide laughs for the entire family, without seeing Cheaper by the Dozen, but for your own entertainment, the 2003 film is definitely recommended.
