'Cheaper' sequel should be last in series

Cheaper by the Dozen II was, in fact, cheaper.

Put nicely, this film was a waste of $8.

The basic plot is Tom and Kate Baker (Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt) rent a house at the lake for a little family time. The family, as the title suggests, is made up of the parents and 12 children.

Simple family time and betterment spells trouble for the Bakers, as the first film showed. Tom runs into Jimmy (Eugene Levy), who lives at the lake with his wife (Carmen Electra) and their eight kids. At a Labor Day festival, Tom becomes infatuated with the competition between the two families. The rivalry, as could be foreseen, tears the Bakers apart.

Probably the most horrible attribute of this movie is that it is so very clich. It has the occasional laugh but it simply is not enough to satisfy the appetite of a movie-goer.

There is no possibility of getting attached to the characters because there are so many. There are 20 kids in this movie. Combine that with the 90-minute duration and you get characters who are not allowed to develop and become dynamic.

Bottom line: Is it entertaining for kids? Yes. Is it entertaining for others? Only if your mentality and maturity is that of a child.

Quite frankly, I wish that Kate and the movie would both start birth control to prevent more offspring because the world cannot afford another Cheaper sequel.

Andy Johnson, 17, is a senior at North Augusta High School.