Yours, Mine and Ours (2005 film)

Plot

High school sweethearts Frank Beardsley, a widowed U.S. Coast Guard admiral, currently serving as superintendent of the US Coast Guard Academy, and Helen North, a widowed handbag designer, are reunited when Frank and his family move back to his hometown of New London, Connecticut. After unexpectedly encountering each other at a restaurant while on separate dates, they run into each other again at their 30-year class reunion.

Instantly rekindling their old sparks, they quickly decide to marry in a private ceremony. They are quite aware of the fact that Frank has eight children from his first marriage, and Helen has ten from hers (four biological, six adopted). They move into a new home on the same property as the lighthouse where Frank and Helen shared their first kiss, joined by the North children's numerous pets (including a pot-bellied pig and a guinea pig), and Frank's housekeeper, Mrs. Munion.

It soon becomes apparent that Frank has a very regimented view of how things should be done, whereas Helen is an artist (a designer by trade) with a more free-spirited, lackadaisical attitude. Their respective children are shocked by the news of their parents' quick wedding and do not get along well at first, even turning a planned lighthouse renovation project into an all-out paint fight.

Frank's oldest son, William, calls a meeting among the children and explains that they can better rid themselves of their new situation by joining forces to make their parents' respective philosophical differences apparent, which will cause them to fight. But while doing so, they gradually begin to bond, attending their siblings' soccer games and helping William in his class president campaign.

A short time later, Frank and Helen attend a formal Coast Guard dinner where his superior, Commandant Sherman, officially offers him the opportunity to be his successor. He respectfully declines it, citing both his obligation to the Coast Guard Academy and his new family. Meanwhile, as the young children have a food fight upstairs in the bedroom, the older ones throw a wild party downstairs. When their parents return to find the place in total chaos, Frank is furious and Helen's more laid-back approach only angers him more. This causes their worst fight yet, and the children, realizing how happy their parents have been together, begin to realize that they might have pushed things too far.

The next day, Frank informs Helen that he has decided to take the position as Commandant after all, and they schedule a family meeting to inform the children. As the children return from school, jubilant over having defended their younger siblings from bullies and with the news of William having won the class election, Frank quickly deflates the mood by telling them of his decision to accept the new position. Feeling guilty for having torn their parents apart, they set about undoing their mistakes, even enlisting Helen to aid in their efforts. Together, the older ones launch the family's boat in an effort to catch Frank (thereby fulfilling his previous dream of having an all-family sailing team that failed earlier), but he is convinced that Helen no longer wants to be with him, until he sees her turn on the lighthouse spotlight (a reference to a story Frank had told her about a beautiful female lighthouse keeper). Successfully reunited, they tie the knot once again, this time with the rest of the family involved.

Cast

Promotion

Quaid and some of the child actors appeared on the November 22, 2005 episode of the Dr. Phil Show to promote the movie.

Box office

The film opened at number three, with an opening weekend of $17,461,108 in the US. Its final North American box office was $53,412,862, and its international box office was $18,615,890, earning a combined total of $72,028,752, well above its $45 million production budget.

Critical reception

Yours, Mine & Ours received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 106 reviews with an average rating of 3.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The initial set-up is unbelievable, the plotting is predictable and stale, and the comedy depends on repetitive pratfalls that soon get old." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 38 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

Soundtrack

Hawk Nelson performed a song featuring Drake Bell, entitled "Bring Em' Out", as the film's main theme song. The group itself performs during the party sequence.

Home media

Paramount Home Entertainment (U.S.A.) and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Int.) released the film on VHS on February 28, 2006, which would be the last Nickelodeon Movies title to be issued on VHS. A "Special Collector's Edition" was released on DVD the same date and included such special features as deleted scenes, audio commentary, theatrical trailers, and behind-the-scenes documentaries.