“Twenty kids? This isn’t a family — it’s a small town.”
synopsis
When widowed Coast Guard admiral Frank Beardsley reconnects with his high-school sweetheart Helen, the two quickly fall back in love and marry. The only complication: Frank has eight children and Helen has ten. When the newly blended family attempts to live under one roof, the house becomes a battlefield of sibling rivalries, practical jokes, and parental attempts to maintain order while twenty children test the limits of patience.
pairs well with ...
mini-review
The film leans heavily on the comic possibilities of a gigantic blended household. Rather than focusing on subtle character development, it embraces the spectacle of two well-meaning parents trying to impose structure on twenty wildly different personalities. While broad and occasionally predictable, the movie taps into a familiar truth: family harmony often emerges only after everyone has exhausted their ability to sabotage one another.
A crowded living room and appreciation for large-family chaos.
Absurdist's Corner
Two adults decide that blending eighteen children into a single household is a manageable life decision.
fun facts
The film is a remake of a 1968 family comedy based on a real-life blended family.
The production required coordinating one of the largest child casts used in a mainstream family comedy.
Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo reportedly enjoyed playing parents overwhelmed by sheer numbers.