If there’s something that film buffs love, it’s a good director’s cut. The extended movies can draw mixed responses, with some being viewed as inferior to their original counterparts and others considered vast improvements over the first product. The latter case was true for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which greatly differed from Joss Whedon’s theatrical version of the epic. For many, it was evident that the superhero team-up had a lot of footage that had been left on the cutting room floor. Some may not think that would be true with a production like Disney+’s Cheaper by the Dozen, though Gabrielle Union has now revealed something she’d like to see in a “Snyder Cut'' of the family-friendly feature.
Director Gail Lerner and producer Kenya Barris (who gave a blunt-but-funny note during production) packed a lot into their retelling of Cheaper by the Dozen. There’s a “drag race” involving a group of kids, a big birthday party scene and even a dance-off sequence. Yet when I recently spoke To Gabrielle Union about her time working on the movie, she explained that there are a few funny moments that didn’t make the final cut. And those scenes apparently involved the adult characters:
You know, it's like when the adults got to play alone in our own adult sandbox. So there was a scene at the pool where it's me and the other, you know, moms, and there's a particularly problematic mom. But those ladies are some of the most, you know, amazing comedic actresses in Hollywood. So most of our ad-libs did not make this Disney version. But it was funny, I cried, I laughed so hard. I had so much fun on those days just working with like comedy powerhouses and, and bouncing things off of each other. Perhaps they'll release, and I'm just calling it the Snyder Cut, not that there's a Snyder involved. But maybe they'll release it on Hulu. You know, the blue version, with all of our spicy hot takes, and ad-libs. But we… that was a great day on set for me.
The veteran actress was indeed working with some true comedic talent in those scenes. Two of the stars in question were Abby Elliott and June Diane Raphael, who played Tricia and Anne, respectively. Elliott is a former Saturday Night Live cast member, who’s also appeared on notable shows like How I Met Your Mother and Inside Amy Schumer. Meanwhile, Raphael has starred in high-profile comedy films such as The Disaster Artist and Long-Shot and is known for her roles in shows like New Girl and Big Mouth. So yeah, their credentials more than speak for themselves.
It honestly would’ve been interesting to see what the group of actresses were able to come up with while they were ad-libbing. Of course, as Gabrielle Union mentioned, some of those jokes weren’t exactly right for kid-centric fare. Somehow I get the impression that the powers that be may not have wanted heavily “spicy” one-liners in the Disney+. Nevertheless, it’s great that Union enjoyed her time working with the stars.
That actually wasn’t the only thing that the Bring it On star appreciated about working on the movie. She also revealed to CinemaBlend that she joined the production because she saw “zero diversity” in family films growing up. So for her, taking on the role of Zoey Baker alongside on-screen husband Zach Braff (who wanted to shed Scrubs’ J.D.) was a way to rectify that lack of representation. And the film certainly does succeed in showing a modern, blended family.
The chances of the public getting to see a “blue” version of Cheaper by the Dozen using a Hulu subscription are somewhat slim, but anything can happen, right? After all, there was a time when the Snyder Cut seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream. So who’s to say we can’t get a more “mature” look at Gabrielle Union’s Baker family?
Cheaper by the Dozen is available to stream with a Disney+ subscription. Be sure to stay up to date on the other features heading your way using CinemaBlend’s schedule of upcoming movies.
