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Page 6 The Skanner Portland & Seattle March 23, 2022 Arts & Entertainment FILM REVIEW: ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ By Dwight Brown NNPA News Wire Film Critic HH 1/2 I t’s kinda like a movie. Kinda like a sitcom. Not really either. But its sweet emotions and modern sensibilities eventually make it en- dearing. It looks like the goal of the relaunch of Cheap- er by the Dozen, a clas- sic 1950 and 2003 white bread Disney family comedy, was to make it more topical and multi- grain. Certainly, the casting attests to that ambition. Zoey (Gabri- elle Union, TV’s L.A.’s Finest) and Paul Baker (Zach Braff, TV’s Scrubs) own Bakers’ Breakfast, a diner that serves the first meal of the day all-day long. Both are divorced and bring their mixed bag of offspring into their new life. Zoey has a teen bas- ketball-loving daughter, Deja (Journee Brown), and young son DJ (An- dre Robinson) from her ex-husband Dom (Timon Kyle Durrett), a rich successful basketball player. Paul brings his daughters, Ella (Kylie Rogers), Harley (Caylee Blosenski), who careens around in a wheelchair, and adopted Southeast Asian son Haresh (Aryan Simhadri) into the clan. Post wedding bells, the couple produced two sets of mixed-race twins: the rambunctious Luca and Luna (Leo Abelo Perry and Mykal-Michelle Har- ris) and the cute Bailey and Bronx (Christian and Sebastian Cote). After taking in Paul’s adoles- cent nephew Seth (Luke Prael), who comes from a broken home, that makes the Bakers an even doz- en. The animated family resides in the multi-eth- nic neighborhood of Echo Park, in Central L. A., northwest of bus- tling Downtown, west of trendy/bohemian Silver Lake and east of historic Chinatown. Childcare, an ever-present concern, is helped by Paul’s diz- zy ex-wife Kate (Erika Christensen). Money is another problem, and that’s solved as the cou- ple expands their busi- ness. Its success brings them gobs of money, toss- es them into an upper so- cioeconomic group and suburban neighborhood. Issues of culture clash and changing family val- ues threaten their happi- ness. The screenplay, by Kenya Barris (Black-ish) & Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry (Black-ish) doesn’t aim higher than it must. It sets the eclectic char- acters up way too much in the beginning, with frontloaded, excessive, backstory exposition. As the film progresses, the narrative gives fam- ily members life dramas to resolve. Funny, quick wit dialogue in rapid de- livery makes them comic and appealing. The script raises some of the social, racial and class issues blended, multiracial fam- ilies confront. Though, it noticeably steers clear of the LGBQT conver- sations kids have these days. Is that to protect the Disney PG brand? A fear of being too real? Debate among yourselves. The rhythm of the laughs and schtick are so TV sitcomish audiences may wonder why this is a 1h 47m streaming movie and not a series. Certainly, it’s not up to theatrical release stan- Cast of Cheaper by the Dozen dards. In Netflix’s hands, the material would be broken up into hour ep- isodes, extended over a season and delve into today’s problems with more depth. Hopefully in a way that wouldn’t con- found children or anger adults but still get the job done. Imagine if Deja’s hoop dreams, DJ’s so- journ into Goth culture, Harley’s experiences as a physically challenged teen, Seth’s juvenile de- linquent behavior and Haresh’s encounters with bullying played out until they were well-de- veloped with appropri- ate character arcs. Kids, tweens and teens might get hooked. And parents too. What’s on view is relevant, but too safe at a time when families are looking for enlightened guidance as they navi- gate an ever-changing world. Director Gail Lerner (Black-ish) is not all that adventurous. Lots of scenes are obvious sets, especially home inte- riors. Her filmmaking doesn’t take real advan- tage of the great outdoors and the kind of freedom and range exterior shots allow. For the first 45 minutes the quick-paced short scenes (editor Troy Takaki, Sweet Home Alabama) lack pizazz. Verve finally emerges at a basketball game half-time show. The very competitive dads, Paul and Dom, have a dance off. It’s a welcomed burst of energy, Lern- er milks the scene well and Braff clowns around like a comedy star. More of these moments were needed. Speaking of cast, the entire ensemble brings more to the party than the filmmakers. Braff is an expert at mugging for the camera. Union plays the mom with the right amount of nurturing and the wife with just enough backbone and grit. Brown, Robinson, Pra- el, Blosenski, Simhadri and both sets of twins stand out. The actors make up for a lot of what the film lacks. They pull you into their emotion- al states until they give you a warm, fuzzy feel- ing. All romp around on sets (production design- er Desma Murphy) that look too artificial with antics captured by harsh lighting (cinematogra- pher Mitchell Amund- sen) that contributes to that plastic TVish look. The musical score (John Paesano) is both soulful- ly contemporary and ge- neric all at the same time. Objectively, the film dares to take on pressing issues and hits some nice emotional peaks. Pity it is not as brave as it could have been. If Cheaper by the Dozen had owned up to what it really is, a potential series with op- portunities to dig deep, it might have had more impact. Ebony Book Club Launched NNPA Newswire E bony Magazine Pub- lishing, the publish- ing arm of the iconic Ebony Magazine, America’s most recog- nizable African Ameri- can brand announced the launch of the Ebony Pub- lishing Book Club (EPBC) and the club’s first book selection. The Book Club’s goal is to celebrate black litera- ture and provide readers with an opportunity to engage with some of the most relevant fiction and nonfiction authors. “Hell of a Book” by Ja- son Mott is the inaugural Dr. Marcelitte Failla Chiropractic Physician 503-228-6140 1000 NE 122nd Ave, Suite 211 Portland, OR 97230 faillas@hotmail.com Facebook available Book Club pick. Jason is a New York Times bestselling au- thor; the 2009 Pushcart Prize award nominee and he is listed by Enter- tainment Weekly as one of their 10 “New Holly- wood: Next Wave” people to watch. “Black authors and book clubs have long played a vital role in our communities. Book clubs are a tradition that bring us together with story- telling and expands our collective horizon of possibilities with hope. This EPBC addition is to support the continuity of our traditions through- out the diaspora,” said Lavaille Lavette, Presi- dent,” Publisher Ebony Magazine Publishing. The EPBC will select four books annual- ly. Notable guests will moderate author events throughout the year.
