12 details you probably missed in 'Cheaper by the Dozen'
"Cheaper by the Dozen," starring Steve Martin, is full of hidden details and subtle mistakes.
A few of the Baker actors seem to break character by laughing or looking at the camera in the film.
Kate makes a reference to the 1948 book the movie was originally based on.
Charlie has similar decorations in his room in both houses.
In both the old and new house, Charlie's bedroom is decorated with posters and sports paraphernalia supporting Chicago teams like the Bears and the Blackhawks.
The biggest difference between his rooms in Midland and Evanston is that he has noticeably more pictures of his girlfriend, Beth, hanging up after the move.
References to both Tom and Kate's jobs can be found in their Midland home.
The computer in the Midland house has sticky notes on it related to Kate's job as a writer, with reminders on deadlines for submitting chapters. There's also a bulletin board next to the computer with notes about Tom's football team that relate to his coaching job.
There are a few recognizable lunch boxes in the Baker's kitchen.
When Mark's frog gets loose during breakfast, the family's dog knocks over a stack of lunch boxes in the chaos.
Several of the lunch boxes feature well-known brands and franchises, such as Crayola and "The Simpsons."
Toys and art projects are scattered throughout Kate and Tom's room until they move.
When Kate and Tom look at their yearbook in the Midland house, drawings and toys from their children are scattered throughout their room in the background.
But in the new house, their room is always clean, without any of the kids' belongings strewn about. This may be to show how they lose touch with their kids' lives as their careers take off.
Steve Martin looks directly at the camera in one scene.
After the family moves, Kate and Tom call their eldest child, Nora, to ask for help with watching the kids.
Martin, who plays Tom in the film, looks directly into the camera at one point in the conversation. The moment is later called out in the outtake reel that plays during the end credits, but the shot was still included in the final film.
Kate makes a reference to the book the movie was originally inspired by.
"Cheaper by the Dozen" was a 1948 semi-autobiographical novel written by two siblings, Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, who grew up in a family with 12 children.
The book is referenced within the movie when Kate mentions her Great Grandma Gilbreth, who was named after the authors.
Lorraine and Charlie's actors can seemingly be spotted breaking character more than once.
During the dinner scene with the entire family, the kids start laughing when the dog attacks Nora's boyfriend, Hank.
But Hilary Duff, who plays Lorraine, and Tom Welling, who plays Charlie, are both laughing earlier than everyone else. They look like they're trying to hide their smiles at the start of the scene when everyone else is still serious.
Duff and Welling also seem to break character in the family-reunion scene later on in the film. The two are again standing next to each other trying to hide smiles.
One of the babysitting agencies Tom calls specifically advertises to clients with multiple kids.
Tom is unable to find a babysitting agency that's willing to watch 12 kids. But one of the ads he's looking at in the phone book specifically says "multiple children not a problem."
Nora is also an adult who's no longer living at home and Charlie and Lorraine are both old enough to be on their own, so Tom should really only need a sitter for nine kids.
The newspaper article about Tom has nothing to do with him.
Tom is interviewed and photographed for a newspaper article that highlights the struggle between spending time with his team and his family.
But the actual words of the article seem to have been copied and pasted from an unrelated source as they have nothing to do with Tom, football, or parenting.
Based on the names in the article — Faith Lockwood, Ken Newman, Buchanan — and the FBI context, it seems like it could be an excerpt from David Baldacci's political thriller "Saving Faith."
Nora is reading a meditation book.
Hank interrupts Nora while she's reading so he can sneak into the house. The cover is visible, and she's reading "Journey to the Heart," a daily meditation book by Melody Beattie.
This is a fitting choice for her character as Nora is usually able to keep calm and help mediate situations with her younger siblings when things get chaotic.
Dylan no longer appears injured a few days after his birthday party.
Dylan is left with a black eye and a broken arm after Tom accidentally falls on him during his birthday party.
But when Kate shows up at Dylan's house a few days later, Dylan no longer appears injured at all. The bruises around his eyes seem to have healed, and his arm is no longer in a cast or sling.
The football in Shake's office changes positions between shots.
When Tom speaks to Shake about resigning, Shake is sitting at his desk in front of a football display case.
But the football inside the case goes from being positioned horizontally, to being slightly angled multiple times during the conversation.
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