As the child picks the room at the top of the new house, hidden away from the rest and as each time Bonnie Hunt gets distracted just when she's giving him some much needed attention, you can see that Mark (ah - I believe that was his name) will be the one to show the bickering brood how much they love one another.

So it is.

Mark runs off, Steve Martin remembers a picture the child had drawn of his favourite place (see, Dad does care after all) and off the family go to reclaim the missing child. And that includes the oldest daughter who had tried to break away - with a boyfriend, played by Ashton Kutcher in an amusing cameo which for a split second made me not hate him - but who of course had realised how important her family was to her.

They of course find the child, explain how much they love him, and soon enough Steve Martin is quitting his job and finding another one so they can move back home and be one big happy family all over again.

Yes, Cheaper by the Dozen certainly manages to check all the right boxes. It's utterly predictable, and instantly forgettable (it's no coincidence that I have mentioned no character names - I can't remember them.)

But, for the two hours or so I was sitting in that cinema, wondering if I should tread on the kid's foot so she'd know how it felt, I was enjoying myself. The film was forgettable. I have no real desire to every watch it again. It offered no real insight into the human psyche.

But, for a couple of hours, it transported me into an easier world where everything was cheery, where I knew what was going to happen, and where there was always going to be a happy ending. And that has to count for something.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to order my copy of Lost in Translation on DVD, and to watch my copy of Hoosiers. What can I tell you? I'm a contradiction.