Many years ago, I saw a movie that was made in 1968, Yours, Mine, and Ours, about a couple that got married and ended up with eighteen children that was based on a true story. Since then I have seen the movie several times and I really enjoy it. I wasn’t sure what to think when I found out that a remake was being made. After seeing the trailer, I was sure it wouldn’t be as good as the original, but I decided to still see Yours, Mine and Ours (2005).

Frank Beardsley, an admiral in the Coast Guard, returned to his hometown with his eight children to take a new post. Frank’s wife had died and he had a very ordered way of dealing with his children. One of Frank’s friends encouraged him to start dating and while on the date, Frank spotted Helen North. He and Helen, a widow with ten children, had dated in high school. They saw each other again at their high school reunion and spent the night talking. They were still drawn to each other even after finding out how many children each had and they ended up eloping. Their children weren’t happy when they were told. Frank and Helen had two very different ways of dealing with their children that made things difficult. The Beardsley and North children didn’t like each other and came up with a plan to split Frank and Helen up.

I have seen several remakes, some of which were fairly good and others that were really bad. I think the new version of Yours, Mine and Ours was somewhere in the middle. It was no where near as good as the original, though I didn’t think it was awful. Maybe I would have enjoyed this version more if I hadn’t seen the original so many times. I know things are changed when remakes are done and I did expect there to be updates in the movie. I feel like entirely too much of the basic story was changed. The original was funny without going into the realm of silly slapstick type of humor constantly to get laughs. The humor mostly came from the adjustments the families had to make after Frank and Helen got married. There were some silly things, but I didn’t feel like it went overboard. That isn’t the case with the remake. Most of the humor was turned into very silly things. Some did make me laugh, but others, like when two of Frank’s young sons were driving a fork lift around a store, just made me roll eyes. The movie was dumbed down entirely too much in an attempt to add humor that failed for the most part. There were funny scenes in the original, like what happened the first time Helen met Frank’s kids, that didn’t make it into this version. I don’t mind movies that are silly at times. I just didn’t think that sort of humor worked that well for this story. The movie just seemed to rush from one silly moment to the next.

In addition to making the movie more stupid and silly at times, many details from the original movie were changed for this version of Yours, Mine and Ours. The names of Frank and Helen were the same, and once they got married, there were eighteen children in the combined families. For some reason, the numbers of children each had were switched and most of Helen’s kids were adopted. That and the fact that Frank was in the Coast Guard instead of the Navy were probably the smallest changes that bothered me the least. Helen had a different job as well, being a purse designer instead of a nurse. That didn’t really bother me much either. In the original, Helen and Frank met by chance and then started to date before eventually deciding to get married. In this version, they had dated in high school, hadn’t seen each other in many years, and ran off and eloped after spending one evening at their reunion together. They were never shown considering the impact on all their children like happened in the first movie which I think would be more realistic in that sort of a situation. The children’s names were different for some reason. There was still a Michael Beardsley, though he wasn’t the oldest like he was before.

Helen and Frank handled things with their children somewhat differently in the original, but the difference was made larger in the new version. Frank was very strict, using a whistle that did remind me a bit of Captain von Trapp from The Sound of Music, though there weren’t different signals for each child. Frank also made up a lot of schedules. In the original, Frank did make up schedules for the bathrooms once he and Helen were married and Helen saw the benefit of them. With that many people in one house, some kind of organization was needed. In the new version, Helen just let her kids run wild at home and had no rules. She did explain to Frank about why she had no rules, and I guess it sort of made sense, but her idea of no rules at all just wouldn’t work with eighteen children under one roof. Helen didn’t seem to be really strict in the original, though she would discipline the children if needed and seemed to be somewhat organized around the house. Helen in the remake was completely different. She wouldn’t discipline the children and didn’t seem to be organized. She laughed at the idea of a schedule for the bathrooms. I wouldn’t like having a scheduled time that much, but can see how it could be needed with that many people in one house. Helen was just changed too much for me.

The original movie showed a lot of basic everyday things and how they were a bit different with such a large family. Meals could be an adventure, especially for Phillip, who seemed to never be able to get any of the things he really wanted. The amount of food just for breakfast for everyone was mind boggling to me the first time I saw the movie. The new version of Yours, Mine and Ours never showed the preparations for any of the meals though one breakfast was shown. After the first time I saw the movie, I wondered just how much the trip to the grocery store, when Helen and Frank ended up with four heaping carts, would cost now. That wasn’t included in the new version. The family was shown shopping once, but it was for supplies to fix up their new house and not groceries. The difficulty all the children had getting along after the marriage was made stronger for this version. Most of the scenes from the original showing how the families adjusted were taken out to make way for the new plot element of how the kids plotted to break up Frank and Helen. I really didn’t care for that aspect of the movie at all.

The original movie was based on a true story. The book that the real Helen wrote was mentioned in the credits of that movie. I didn’t see anything in the credits of the new version that mentioned that book or that the movie was inspired by a true story. When I was double checking cast information at www.imdb.com, Helen’s book isn’t listed there as any sort of source like it is at the site for the original movie, though the people who wrote the screenplay for the 1968 version are listed. I don’t think the new one told the same story the original did. There were just too many things changed. It seemed like the makers were attempting to make something that was very similar to the Cheaper by the Dozen remake from a few years ago.

The new version has been marketed as a family movie and is rated PG. Younger kids will probably find some of the humor hilarious. There wasn’t any swearing or anything objectionable in the movie for parents to worry about. Helen and Frank kissed a few times and were shown in bed together after they were married, but there were no actual sex scenes so parents don’t need to worry about that. Helen was wearing a nightgown in one or two scenes. One of the older girls was shown only wearing a towel during one scene. Frank had his shirt off in one or two scenes. That was it for any sort of nudity in the movie.

Frank and Helen were the main characters and at least one of them was in most of the scenes. I didn’t think either one of them was that well developed though. Frank was shown to be strict and organized while Helen was exactly the opposite. Both of them loved their kids. That really is as far as the development went. I do think the character development was handled better in the 1968 version.

The children were developed even less than Frank and Helen. Only the older ones really had any development. The younger ones were just shown running around playing for the most part. It was very difficult to keep the names of all the kids straight since there wasn’t much attention given to most of them. It wasn’t that difficult for me with the original. I didn’t think the kids were likable characters. The actors playing them were fine, but nothing special. The only one I recognized was Danielle Panabaker, who was in Sky High earlier this year. Rene Russo and Dennis Quaid were fine as Helen and Frank and believable as a couple.

CAST

Drake Bell - Dylan North
Dean Collins - Harry Beardsley
Miranda Cosgrove - Joni North
Sean Faris - William Beardsley
Jennifer Habib - Bina North
Jessica Habib - Marisa North
Miki Ishikawa - Naoko North
Tyler Patrick Jones - Michael Beardsley
Lil’ JJ - Jimi North
Nicholas Roget-King - Aldo North
Brecken Palmer - Ely Beardsley
Bridger Palmer - Otter Beardsley
Danielle Panabaker - Phoebe North
Ty Panitz - Ethan Beardsley
Slade Pearce - Mick North
Katija Pevec - Christina Beardsley
Dennis Quaid - Frank Beardsley
Haley Ramm - Kelly Beardsley
Renee Russo - Helen North
Andrew Vo - Lao North

Raja Gosnell - Director

The new version of Yours, Mine and Ours was mildly entertaining but I don’t think it was as good as the original. It was a decent family movie that could be enjoyable. People that really like the original will probably be disappointed with the new version. I am a little torn on if I should recommend it or not, but will go with a tentative yes. There really isn't a reason to rush out to the theater to see it though.

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D.O.A. ~ The Day After Tomorrow ~ Flight of the Phoenix ~ Sky High ~



Recommended: Yes