Yours, Mine & Ours (2005) (PG) ★½

This Thanksgiving, be thankful for two things: 1) you don’t have 18 kids and 2) you don’t have to see Yours, Mine and Ours. You've already seen it by way of Parenthood and Cheaper by the Dozen.

Story

Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid) is a widowed Admiral from the U.S. Coast Guard with eight kids and one hell of a regiment. In fact, you could call him downright anal retentive when it comes to raising his children. Meanwhile, his poor kids ardently hope that someday they’ll land somewhere permanently. They get their wish when Frank runs into Helen North (Renee Russo), his former high school sweetheart. Helen is also widowed, a free-spirited handbag designer with 10 kids who takes a more relaxed approach to parenting. Deciding its fate they’ve been reunited, the two get married without their combined 18 children knowing about it. When the kids find out that their lives are about to drastically change, all 18 of them band together to break up their parents--but learn a few life lessons instead. Sweet, isn’t it?

Acting

Watching Russo is always such a treat. Even grappling with a script like Yours, Mine and Ours, she manages to make the most of her eccentric, flustered character. Quaid, on the other hand, deviates little from the character he played in The Parent Trap, or The Rookie or any other movie he’s been in lately. If you have seen one of his movies, you’ve seen them all. Thankfully, the kids are the best part of the movie, each of them finding a way to endear themselves. The youngest two kids--Ethan Beardsley (Ty Panitz) and Aldo North (Nicholas Roget-King)--are the most entertaining to watch because they are so young and naïve. Whether they are getting in trouble for something their older siblings put them up to, or fearing the “hammer” (aka the Admiral’s discipline plan), they bring some welcomed relief in the otherwise stale comedy.

Direction

Director Raja Gosnell, best known for helming comedies such as Scooby Doo, Big Momma's House and Never Been Kissed, should know have known better than to try to resurrect and remold the Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda1968 original. It just isn’t necessary. To start with, the story, which is based on the real Helen North Beardsley’s book Who Gets the Last Drumstick?, isn’t all that entertaining. It’s also a little dated for these modern times, especially when we’ve seen the same material covered in far better films such as Parenthood. But at least Gosnell knows how to highlight the calamity of having 20 people together in one house--a house which also includes two large dogs and a pot-bellied pig. Yeah, a pig. Whether it’s a paint fight among the family, or a party among the older kids, Gosnell puts you inside this zoo the Beardsley-Norths call home. Just be glad you don’t live in it yourself.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 1 1/2 stars.