Yours, Mine and Ours Information

Yours, Mine & Ours is a 2005 American Family film starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo. Directed by Raja Gosnell, it was released on November 23, 2005, and is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name, starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. The film was produced by Nickelodeon Movies, and distributed by Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures.

Plot

High school sweethearts Frank Beardsley (a widowed Coast Guard Admiral) and Helen White (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, the pair run into each other again at their 30-year class reunion.

Instantly rekindling their old sparks, the two quickly decide to marry in a private ceremony. They are quite aware of the fact that Frank already has eight children from his first marriage, and Helen has ten from her first marriage. The family moves 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 and Frank's housekeeper, Mrs. Munion.

It soon becomes apparent that, as a Coast Guard Admiral, 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, who are a product of their parents' views, are shocked by the news of their parents' quickie wedding and don't 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 kids and explains that they can better rid themselves of their new situation by joining forces to make their parents' respective philosophical differences apparent, and effectively cause them to start fighting. During this time, the kids gradually begin to bond, taking part in such activities as attending their siblings' soccer games and helping William in his campaign for class president.

A short time later, Frank and Helen attend a formal Coast Guard dinner where Frank's superior, Commandant Sherman, officially offers Frank the opportunity to be his successor. Frank respectfully declines the offer, citing both his obligation to the Coast Guard Academy and his new family. Meanwhile, the older kids throw an all-out party that quickly grows out of control, and when the couple returns home to find their place in total chaos, Frank is furious, while Helen takes a more laid-back approach, which only angers Frank further and causes their worst fight yet. Realizing just how happy their parents have been together, the kids begin to sense that maybe they pushed things too far.

The next day, Frank informs Helen that he has decided to take the position as Commandant after all, and the pair schedule a family meeting to inform the kids of this new development. As they 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 the kids of his decision to accept the new position. Feeling guilty for having torn their parents apart, the kids set about undoing their mistakes, even enlisting Helen to aid in their efforts. Together, the older kids launch the family's boat in an effort to catch Frank, 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 Helen about a beautiful female light-housekeeper). Successfully reunited, the pair tie the knot once again, but this time with the rest of the family involved.

Cast

• Dennis Quaid as Frank Beardsley
• Rene Russo as Helen White-Beardsley

The Beardsley children (8 children)

• Sean Faris as William, age 17
• Katija Pevec Christina, age 16
• Dean Collins as Harry, age 14
• Haley Ramm as Kelly, age 11
• Tyler Patrick Jones as Michael, age 10
• Bridger and Brecken Palmer as Otter and Ely, age 6
• Ty Panitz as Ethan, age 4

The North children (10 children)

• Danielle Panabaker as Phoebe, age 17
• Drake Bell as Dylan, age 16
• Lil' JJ as Jimi, age 14
• Miki Ishikawa as Naoko, age 14
• Miranda Cosgrove as Joni, age 11
• Slade Pearce as Mick, age 9
• Andrew Vo as Lau, age 8
• Jennifer Habib and Jessica Habib as Bina and Marisa, age 6
• Nicholas Roget-King as Aldo, age 4

Supporting cast

• Rip Torn as Commandant Sherman
• Linda Hunt as Mrs. Munion
• Jerry O'Connell as Max Algrant
• David Koechner as Captain Darrell Edwards
• Dan Mott as Pizza Delivery Guy

Production

It was the first ever co-production between Paramount and MGM. The original 1968 film was produced by Desilu Productions, which had been sold to Paramount the year before. The distribution of that film was handled by United Artists, which merged with MGM in 1981. With this setup, it would be Paramount that would renew the copyright in 1996, but MGM/UA retains full distribution rights to this day. Columbia became involved in the remake once parent company Sony led a partnership that bought MGM in 2005.

Release

Promotion

Quaid, and some of the children featured in the film, appeared on the November 22, 2005 episode of the Dr. Phil Show to promote the movie.

Box office

Yours, Mine and Ours 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 and Ours received generally negative reviews from film critics. Although Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of only 6% based on 105 reviews, 64% of audiences on the site recommended the movie. Metacritic gives the film an average score of 38%, based on 25 reviews.

Despite negative response from several critics, Joe Leydon of Variety gave the film positive feedback, calling it "generally pleasant family-friendly fare".

Soundtrack

Hawk Nelson recorded a song featuring Drake Bell, entitled "Bring Em' Out" as the film's main theme song.

Home media

Paramount Home Entertainment released the film on VHS on March 28, 2006, which would be the last Nickelodeon Movies title to be issued in VHS format. A "Special Collector's Edition" of the film was released on DVD the same date and included such special features as deleted scenes, audio commentary, theatrical trailers, and behind-the-scenes documentaries.