CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2 — * 1/2 — Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Eugene Levy; rated PG (slapstick violence, vulgarity, mild profanity); Carmike 12 and Ritz 15 Theaters; Century Theatres 16; Cinemark 24 at Jordan Landing; CinemaStar Gateway 8 Cinemas; Megaplex 12 at The Gateway; Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons.

"Cheaper by the Dozen 2" is essentially the same movie as the recent remake of "Yours, Mine & Ours" . . . which was essentially the same movie as the hit 2003 "Cheaper by the Dozen" remake.

All three films are heavy on slapstick and childish shenanigans, which isn't completely unpleasant (just mildly so). However, the filmmakers force-feed this heaping serving of juvenilia into a paper-thin plot — one that needs considerable padding just to be stretched out to 90 minutes' worth of screen time.

As a result, this half-hearted, obviously obligatory sequel feels labored and twice as long as it really is.

In "Cheaper 2," football coach Tom Baker (Steve Martin) has retired and is now concentrating on being a parent. But he's distressed to find his brood, er kids, going their separate ways.

So with encouragement from his best-selling author wife, Kate (Bonnie Hunt), Tom schedules a family vacation at their favorite lake. When they get there, though, the Bakers discover that most of the cabins have been acquired by Tom's long-time rival, Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy), who's trying to make the area into an exclusive country club.

Instead of relaxing and enjoying the family time, Tom starts fueling a competition with Jimmy — hoping to prove that his 12 children are better-behaved and more athletic than Jimmy's eight.

The only thing the film has going for it is the pairing of Martin and Hunt, who do have believable chemistry as the Baker parents. But screenwriter Sam Harper and director Adam Shankman ("The Pacifier") don't give them nearly enough time together.

Instead, they concentrate on Martin and encourage him to act clownish. Frankly, he's far too old to be doing that routine.

Even Levy, who's usually a welcome comic presence, plays straight man to Martin. At least he looks better than frighteningly-thin pop star Hilary Duff, who co-stars as one of the older Baker children.

"Cheaper by the Dozen 2" is rated PG for scenes of slapstick violence (including pratfalls, vehicular violence and explosive mayhem), crude humor involving bodily functions and animal hijinks (including one sex gag), and mild profanity (religiously based). Running time: 94 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com