Review of Yours, Mine & Ours (2005) by James K — 24 Jul 2017

In 1968, a little film called "Yours, Mine and Ours" was released, and became a surprise hit. The story of a large family is nothing new, but when it's based on a true story, then things get rather interesting. And while the film has shown its age, it is still watchable, and very entertaining, to say the least. So, in 2005, this movie was remade to appeal towards a more modern audience. And it failed. Not only does this remake fail, but it completely lacks the charm that the original offered. The 2005 remake of "Yours, Mine & Ours" fails to compare and capture what made the original good in the first place, and it's just another bad film to throw to the pile of other bad movies.

The story involves a man and a woman reuniting after a long period of time. Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid) meets Helen North (Rene Russo) during a high school reunion of all things, and the two rekindle their love. They eventually propose, and are happy, with one large problem coming with their marriage. Their kids; a lot of kids. Frank has a litter of eight, and Helen has ten; most of which are adopted. Frank and Helen want to become one big happy family, but the kids don't see it this way. And chaos ensues.

With the 2005 version of "Yours, Mine & Ours", we have a terrible, terrible movie. Mostly due to the fact that the story presented here has no clear focus. Yes, it mostly concerns the parents trying to bring balance, yet it seems like the kids take up the majority of the run time. Plus, the pacing presented here does not have time to slow down and take its time. Instead, there are scenes that happen so fast, you can't tell what just happened. What we have is a movie that is predictable, and very clichéd.

The acting is a jumbled mess. The performances from the kid actors are okay at best, but with the adult acting, it is very wooden and boring. This could be attributed towards the lack of humor presented here- most of which is crude humor- just fails/sucks. All of this can be attributed to the direction from Raja Gosnell, who gives the entire production a very rushed and sloppy feel. Speaking of looks, everything looks and sounds uninteresting. Sure, the original is dated, but at least there was a purpose for the setting. Here, the movie looks like your typical modern family comedy. Even the orchestrated score is overshadowed by a jukebox soundtrack that is just as generic as it sounds.

All in all, this is a bad movie no matter how one looks at it. There are no redeeming qualities found here, and if there are, they are minimal. In conclusion, the 2005 "Yours, Mine & Ours" is a bad remake of a much better film that should only be seen for curiosity's sake.