Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Eugene Levy co-stars as the patriarch of a rival family of eight children. Carmen Electra portrays his wife. Two years after Tom Baker resigned from his head coaching position, his family begins to undergo many changes, beginning with Lorraine and her desire to study in New York. Their oldest daughter, Nora, is now married to Bud McNulty and heavily pregnant with their first child. They intend to move to Houston because of his new job promotion. Feeling the family is breaking apart as the children grow up and move away, Tom persuades them to take one last family vacation all
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 was also kind to Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt and Eugene Levy, deeming the veteran actors did the best with what was given to them. Marrit Ingman of the "Austin Chronicle" conceded that it had a good message, and agreed that Hunt was "marvelous and down-to-earth" but ultimately felt that "the rest of the movie is as funny as mildew", found that "the product placement is particularly egregious" and thought that Hilary Duff looked "as tanned and raw as buffalo jerky". Andrea Gronvall was also horrified by Duff's appearance while writing for the "Chicago Reader", calling her "haggard" and "flat-out scary",