Film Reviews

Yours, Mine And Ours

• Rating:
• Director: Raja Gosnell.
• Starring: Dennis Quaid, Rene Russo, Sean Farris, and Drake Bell.
• Details: US, 90mins, PG.

Feeling lonely and tired after taking care of his eight kids, widower Admiral Frank Beardsley (Quaid) decides to go on a blind date with a co-serviceman's ex-wife but the potentially disastrous date turns out to be a surprise when he runs into an old high school flame Helen North (Russo). They hit it off immediately and, even though she has ten kids, they move into a huge lighthouse together. Initially, Frank's regimental kids and Helen's free-expressionhippy-esque kids don't see eye to eye but when they decide that they can work together to split their parents up, they find that they have a lot in common. It's common knowledge that Hollywood producers never cared about the audience but, up until recently, the theory that they were in complete contempt of the movie-going public was always debateable. With Cheaper By The Dozen 1 and 2 failing to reach the heady heights expected, an update of an 1968 Lucille Ball vehicle should have been enough to put prospective producers off the project, but they went ahead and gave it the green light anyway, showing that they not only hate you, they think you're an idiot too. From the director who brought you the classics Home Alone 3, Scooby Doo 1 and 2 and Big Momma's House, Raja Gosnell once again showcases his hatred for film and the last thing he wants to do is challenge the audience, content to kill the movies with every single shot (his next project is called Big Baby). Yours, Mine And Ours never tries to elevate itself over the aforementioned Cheaper By The Dozen's, aiming for almost identical gags that have to have their cobwebs brushed off before wheeling them out for a bored audience; kids driving forklifts, house parties out of control, slipping on paint etc. And where the hell did they find Dennis Quaid?

Review by Gavin Burke