Disney Plus
The New “Cheaper By The Dozen” Reboot Is Cringy But There’s One Thing They Got Right That I Love
Okay, so when Disney Plus announced they were remaking our beloved “Cheaper By The Dozen” movie, I was super excited for it!
I absolutely loved watching this as a kid, and with the remake now getting an updated cast that includes Gabrielle Union, Zach Braff, and Mykal-Michelle Harris (yup, the little spunky girl from Mixed-ish) I was ecstatic. Not only do I love Gabrielle and Zach, but the family was now mixed, instead of just plain vanilla.
But after watching the new “Cheaper By The Dozen” 2022 remake last night, I’m not so excited anymore. Why? I’ll discuss it all below.
Here’s my “Cheaper By The Dozen” 2022 movie review
Spoiler Alert – If you haven’t seen Cheaper By The Dozen (2022), this review will spoil things a bit. But it’s needed! So you can totally read this. Unless you loathe all kinds of spoilers. In that case, bookmark this joint and wait until you’ve seen the movie.
The “Cheaper By The Dozen” (2022) remake is hella cringy!
Like, I expected it to be cheesy, since it’s a Disney Plus film, but O M G is it cringy!
It’s like someone tried way too hard to make this film as BLACK as possible.
And not in a good way.
More like in a cringy, hella stereotypical, offensive, way. You know how you get in an Uber and they switch the radio channel to something “Blacker” and you’re like … wait a second, why did you assume I needed you to change the channel? Well yeah, that’s how this new remake feels.
It’s almost as if someone thought making a family more “inclusive” meant, making them more “hood”.
Clearly someone needs a training on writing stories for people of color. Just because you include more Black characters, doesn’t mean you need to try to make the story more hood. For goodness sake, she’s married to a WHITE MAN! Just give us the f*cking suburb story!
Every damn song was stollen from a Black playlist.
And I mean, I thought we were doing pretty good when the film started off with a Beyonce song. I was hype! And then every song after that was this over the top Black song that didn’t fit the story and made me feel like they wanted us to congratulate them for “adding our songs”. But all the songs were way too Black for this damn movie! None of them fit, aside from the end credits song!
Which made me so freaking mad because the whole movie would have been better with pop, mellow music, instead of hood, blasting bass, wanna be Black so damn hard, music.
But it wasn’t JUST the music!
The dialogue and story itself is just stereotypical trash.
Zoe was a cheerleader who dated a Black football player? Stereotype!
White ex wife thought the kids “drag race” was Ru Paul? LGBT+ inclusive or offensive?
The two dads (one white, one Black) have a dance battle, where the Black dad is a great dancer, and the white dad sucks? Stereotype!
She loves flaming cheetos and ciroc?
STEREOTYPE!!!!!
And on top of all the stereotypes pushed on to us, like it’s 1999, the dialogue itself is problematic.
Why is there a little boy asking for the wifi to “not look at college girl bodies online”? Yeah, we know boys do that, but was that supposed to be funny?
Of course it gets worse! The one Indian character starts talking to their white cousin like he’s a f*cking inmate! Why are we using inmate / jail terms, for a Disney film? Is it because there are more characters of color now? Magically inmate talk makes sense here?
Oh, and the other Black boy character at one point says “who was the baddie with the big Kardashian butt?” WHY!? And spoiler alert — he was talking about his f*cking sister who was wearing the shortest of short skirts now that she’s going to private school, to go meet a boy she liked. Whole damn show she wasn’t in “sexy” attire, but now that there’s a boy involved her wardrobe magically changes?
Shit is trash!
I watched it with my 10 year old daughter, and she barely even laughed throughout the entire film. Which I don’t blame her, because Turning Red was funnier than this!
Then came the pool scene where the Black kids were told to leave their toy guns home, only for them to get to the pool and see white kids playing with the exact same water guns!
Yes we know Black kids can’t walk around with guns in public, because cops are racist AF, but they never touch on this. It’s not explained. It’s just thrown in. What are our kids supposed to take from that? Why wasn’t it explained? Oh right, because you don’t know how — you just know how to throw Black issues in to make us feel like it’s “for” us, when it’s not.
Oh and why did the Black dad have a fit at the end? It was so weird because the whole time the movie was dancing around race issues, instead of actually discussing them, and then this man just basically says you’re too white to raise my Black kids! But honestly it just felt like they were using the “white people can’t raise Black kids” issue to justify them showing an outraged Black father screaming at everyone.
But the one thing they got right, was how the family treated the “delinquent” cousin.
They took in one of the kid’s cousins for a bit, who was famous for stealing, but never gave him a hard time. When he got to their house, he was immediately integrated into the family. I have a big soft spot for “at risk” youth, and I think that all kids deserve second chances.
So it warmed my heart to see them giving him grace. Watching them trust him enough to help with the business, and tell him they were proud of him was amazing! He needed that.
So I’m grateful for that.
But now that I write that out, I realize that, maybe this part of the story was so well written because that character was white?
So there goes that one good thing!
So should you watch the Cheaper By The Dozen (2022) remake?
I mean … I guess you can.
Do I recommend it? Nope. You’re better off watching Turning Red! Trust me.
We didn’t really enjoy watching CBTD the way we enjoyed Turning Red.
This remake felt more like the new Coming 2 America movie. Offensive, instead of funny. So even though I was excited for this remake, now that I’ve seen it, I’m over it!
If your family is bored and runs out of things to watch on Disney Plus, I guess you guys can watch this. But it’s not highly entertaining, and you’re not missing anything if you skip it.
I’m just saying.
Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch Ms. Marvel episode 2 a few days early, and I am super excited to share my initial thoughts via this live recap.
Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel.
And I absolutely love it! So here are …
43 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 2
No Spoilers – If you haven’t seen Ms. Marvel episode 2 yet, you’re in luck, because this recap will NOT spoil things. I omitted a few thoughts that included spoilers so you can read this without worry. You’re welcome!
- Ugh! Back to the Marvel theme song! Usually I miss it, but I hate the flip flop, inconsistency of which song gets played in the opening credits. Either make all the episodes open with a culture song, or the theme song, pick one.
- Is that a Diddy song??
- Awwww there’s a LGBT couple. Cute.
- This girl looks so familiar, like someone’s kid! OMG she looks like Jessica Marie!
- That title sequence is kinda cute.
- Kinda shocked this series breaks the “Marvel mold” where they wait until episode 4 to kick things up a notch! So if this already happened in episode 1 and 2, that means something big is coming right???
- Nice! I like that they put this ‘prayer routine at the mosque’ scene in!
- Now WHY would you wear Versace shoes to a place you gotta take em off sis!? WHY!?
- Of course she likes the new kid … who has a car?
- Not her saying she likes the color of the car … and it’s black! Reminds me of that time a boy tried to compliment me in High School and said he liked my jacket! It was sooo freaking weird because it wasn’t a CUTE jacket! So it was nothing to “like” and I instantly knew why he said it.
- Must be nice to have a Paki dude around to relate to, huh!
- Also, making it cool to date your race, and not the white boy? A plus!
- Oh my lord! What is she doing!?
- I love this song!
- Yessss … they do cheeky music that works! I love it.
- Omg are her powers tied to her emotions?? Like in “Turning Red“??
- Wait are all women superhero powers tied to emotions???
- Are those hoop earrings???
- Gabe is SO weird. But my kids probably say the same about me, huh.
- Now he don’t wanna go to Cal tech cause the boy like Kamala? Lord.
- Not a “The Devil Wears Prada” reference!
- It is hoop earrings!! How many people are gonna get the significance of her friend giving her those though?? Don’t worry, I’ll write it up!
- Him reminding her he knows the language so she can “date him too” is cute.
- Oh shit! She said he’s our cousin! Because of course it’s easier to pretend they’re related than admit she’s on a date with a boy!
- He worked for Hot Topic??? That was weird! But also shows how sexist our older generations are. How was he allowed to work at Hot Topic and have a phase, and she can’t go to a convention and dress up for one day?
- His fiancé is black? Or? What’s going on here now!?
- He switched on that accent mad quick!
- I love that Eid Mubarak was showcased!
- The illumin-aunties like illuminati! (Which we just saw in Doctor Strange 2!) Clever!
- Wowwww look how easy he got her!
- Not them about to do a sweep of all their places! I already don’t like that!! Police raiding?! Please make it stop. This is triggering AF!!
- Why was he taking photos outside a window? HUH! HUH! Whose foolish child is this?!!
- Who TF is Night Light?
- Omg he puts ice cream on his pizza?? He gotta go!
- She keeps getting flashes of her Great Grandmother??
- Omg NOW they think she hurt him! Ugh!
- This is an emotional rollercoaster! I like this.
- Oh what the f*ck!!!
- Of course his ass was right there to help! Not weird at all.
- Omgggg they are f*cking related!!! YOOOOOO!!
- The end of episode 2 is crazy!!
- Ok ok so something is definitely gonna happen soon and now I can’t wait to see the next episode!!
- No end credit scene for episode 2. Bummer!
Anywho, that’s it for this week!
Favorite quotes from the show coming soon. But until then …
Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.
Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch Ms. Marvel episode 1 a few days early, and I am super excited to share my initial thoughts via this live recap.
Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel.
And I absolutely love it! So here are …
47 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 1
No Spoilers – If you haven’t seen Ms. Marvel episode 1 yet, you’re in luck, because this recap will NOT spoil things. I omitted a few thoughts that included spoilers so you can read this without worry. You’re welcome!
- Is this really starting off with THIS song? Totally a preteen teen show!
- I love the stop motion!
- Awww … she was making videos! It’s so cute.
- The transition from American to Pakistani! Smooth! I love it.
- Awwww she’s learning to drive!
- Yesss to the music!
- Not her saying a quick prayer, and him saying “bless you” like she sneezed.
- Awwww … it’s Jersey City.
- Yesssss (again) to the music!
- Riah (my daughter) is gonna like this.
- Another culture playlist (like “Moon Knight“) and I love it!
- They used to be friends???
- I like Mr. Wilson! I mean Gabe.
- Not lyrics from Mulan! He’s killing me!
- The Marvel bros are gonna be bored with this one? Oh well! Sucks for them!
- Families are gonna like this!
- Dr. Strange and Star Wars are both mentioned in this.
- What episode does she get her powers??
- Where in the world … is Kamala from?
- Not a Zuzu instead of an Alexa! Cute.
- I remember being scared to ask my parents to go somewhere. I feel you girl.
- Not her tryna use Bruno and his “no family” having self to her advantage.
- OF COURSE the tight suit of Captain Marvel is a problem! Ugh!
- Story of my life! The girl doesn’t get to do anything and the boy gets to do everything!
- So he’s gonna be her sidekick who does gadgets? That’s usually the role they chuck a POC kid in! I’m happy they didn’t this time.
- Awww look how good she looks in her suit!
- They keep calling it a party! It’s not a party, it’s a darn convention!!
- Not the f*cking hulk costume! It’s soooo bad!
- As a parent, her being humiliated hurts. But I get it!
- I worry about my kid wearing tight clothes too, but gosh. My childhood keeps me from overreacting to what she wears because I know too well how it felt!
- Omg he better not have a crush on her! No love interest! Please!!
- The scoring is great!
- Has to wear a sweater at gym? Yup. Totally get that “can’t show skin” even if it means not dying of heat in gym class foolery! It’s so frustrating!!
- Family making you feel bad for liking what you like is so trash!
- So she’s from Pakistan?! Cool!!
- Omg is she getting her powers this episode!???
- This b*tch just jumped out her f*cking window and almost died! I can not!
- Omgggg her bike!!!! That’s so f*cked up! He ain’t even HELP! WTF man!!
- Whew! She made it! She’s about to be in MAD trouble later, but she made it!
- I want some of this Avenger Con swag. I’m just saying!
- Oh nooo!! Her senses are heightened!?
- Of course the Antman is oversized! Cute easter egg!
- The ending of episode 1 is wild!!
- Why didn’t she just use her powers!???
- Yesss to the end credits music!
- Ahhhh there’s an end credit scene! I miss those.
- We needed this series 10 years ago when kids were making fun of Paki kids!
Anywho, that’s it for this week!
Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.
Disney Plus
Watching “Ms. Marvel” Episode 1 Is Like Watching My Entire Childhood Play Out On TV And I Love It
Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 a few days before it released on their streaming service, to review, and I absolutely loved it. Not only am I IN LOVE with this new Marvel teen superhero series, and can’t wait to watch it with my preteen once it finally drops on June 8th. It also reminds me so much of my own childhood!
So here’s my full “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 review …
Don’t worry, this is a spoiler free review, so if you haven’t seen “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 yet, keep reading … I won’t spoil the fun.
Okay so, “Ms. Marvel” is Marvel’s latest comic influenced Disney Plus original series …
About a Muslim American geeky teen girl from Jersey City who doesn’t feel like she fits in at home, or at school.
And of course I’m not a Muslim teen girl with superpowers.
But as I watched episode 1 of “Ms. Marvel” I saw so many scenarios that felt oh so familiar from my own high school days. Which instantly made me feel connected to Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani).
From being scared to ask my parents to go hang out with my friends, to not being able to wear certain clothes because they were “too tight or too short”, to wondering why my older brother could do whatever he wanted, while I couldn’t do a damn thing.
The entire first episode is incredibly relatable for a girl who’s of Caribbean decent, and was born and raised in NYC, with incredibly old school, strict parents.
(Not to mention, my mom too gave me the silent treatment whenever I did something she didn’t like. And my parents still make me feel like shit for liking what I like — specifically anything artsy, like movies, music, etc.)
So when I got introduced to Kamala Khan, for the very first time, in episode 1, I immediately “felt at home”. Of course, I’d much rather not bond with a teenage girl over our traumatic childhoods. But it is nice to see such a relatable superhero on a big screen. Opposed to a wealthy ass white adult male. Because even though I do love me some Iron Man … I can’t relate to anything other than his snark.
But it’s not just how relatable “Ms. Marvel” is for me!
I’m a big fan of teen dramas, and series that star kids with superpowers! (Think “Raising Dion“, “Cloak and Dagger“, “Naomi“, and “Runaways” to name a few.) So I was always going to love “Ms. Marvel”. This is just what I love!
Yet, they still find ways to suck me in even more!
Like with amazing scoring, and with their dope ass cultured, unbasic, soundtrack mixing familiar American pop songs (like Blinding Lights by The Weekend) with more unfamiliar pieces like Rozi by Eva. B — a Pakistani hip hop female rapper and singer! Which you can listen to as the end credits for episode 1 roll in.
Then there’s the cool stop motion clips at the beginning. Along with the cutesy animation overlays (similar to what we saw in “Heartstopper” on Netflix — another teen, rom-com-ish series, that I absolutely love).
It’s all freaking incredible!
Now, Marvel bros may have a hard time keeping up with this one, but families are gonna love this!
Based on what we see in “Ms. Marvel” episode 1, this series is leaning more towards the family friendly side of Marvel. So if your kids are anything like my 10 year old, and haven’t been interested in any of the latest Marvel series because they seem like “too much”, then you’re in luck! My daughter hasn’t watched any of the Marvel series since “WandaVision“! So I’m excited to watch this one with her.
However … the end credits for episode 1 … yes, there’s an end credit scene … seems to hint that this series still has all that ‘Marvel action’ we’ve grown to love.
So I’m super excited to see how this series plays out! Especially since a few things are already revealed in episode 1, that I didn’t think would come until later? But unlike previous Marvel series, that didn’t really kick off until episode 4, “Ms. Marvel” jumps right in … so I’m expecting them to turn up the heat after a few episodes.
Either way, this is gonna be a special series! I can just feel it. So if you’ve been second guessing this one, stop! You need to watch this! Especially since, Ms. Marvel will join Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel 2.
Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.
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