Product Description

When Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid), a widower of 8 children runs into his high school sweetheart, Helen North (Rene Russo), it’s as if thirty years never passed! Helen, also a widow with ten kids of her own that include the six she and her husband adopted, feels the attraction as well. It’s no wonder they rush into marriage without telling their kids. True love can conquer all—right? Unfortunately for Frank and Helen, the families don’t mesh quite as easily as the newlyweds had hoped. They probably should have seen the culture clash coming: the disciplined Beardsleys run things by the book; for the energetic and vivacious Norths, there is no book. Helen’s kids aren’t pleased about moving and sharing rooms with a bunch of uptight strangers. Frank’s children have nothing in common with the Norths. Since both sets of kids aren’t happy, they devise a plan to undermine the marriage and team up to plot the breakup. East meets west as the two families finds a way to work together—in order to separate. Just when it appears that the kids have succeeded, they realize they like each other despite their differences—they don’t want their families to split up! Can they save Frank and Helen’s marriage after they so brilliantly split them up? It’s up to Frank and Helen!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20569 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2006-02-28
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Special Edition, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo, the sexiest adults in Hollywood, anchor Yours, Mine and Ours, an enjoyably traditional family film. Frank Beardsley (Quaid, In Good Company, The Rookie), a Coast Guard admiral, runs his brood of eight kids like a military squad; Helen North (Russo, Tin Cup, Get Shorty), a designer, keeps her multicultural family of ten together with a more free and creative hand. The two run into each other and rekindle their high school romance, getting married before the kids even have a chance to meet. The two families naturally experience a bit of culture clash. After squabbles, disputes, and outright fights, the kids agree on one thing: They have to split up Frank and Helen so they can return to their old lives. Yours, Mine and Ours doesn't hold any surprises, but after a rushed beginning, the movie settles into a series of brisk, cheerful skirmishes among the kids and some truly sweet interludes between Quaid and Russo, who handle their mature romance with graceful, seasoned aplomb. This straightforward movie cruises by on energy and enthusiasm, and sometimes, that's enough for a good time. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

I Didn't Expect to Like It, but...
Yesterday was our middle child's 18th birthday. As part of the festivities there was a trip to the local cinema. The birthday girl gets to choose the movie, you know, so "Pride and Prejudice" (my choice) wasn't chosen. Mom vetoed Brokeback Mountain. The compromise choice was "Yours, Mine and Ours".

Just before going out the door I checked a couple of on-line reviews. Yikes! Other reviewers were trashing this film. On top of that I'm not a big fan of the "madcap comedy featuring a housefull of characters." I gritted my teeth and vowed to not complain or cast any shadow over the sweet 18 celebration.

Okay - this is not Casablanca. But I liked it. This movie overcame my negative expectations and won me over despite it's numerous flaws. Why? The characters, though drawn with broad strokes, are nonetheless likable, and I found myself rooting for them going into the final act.

Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo are as attractive as actors my age get, and their characters are both essentially good. That was a good place to start.

Quaid is a 2-Star Coast Guard Admiral just assigned to take over leadership at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. A widower of several years, he presides over his brood of 8 kids along with housekeeper Linda Hunt. Russo portrays his high school sweetheart, still living there in New London. She is also widowed. After 4 children of their own, she and her previous spouse adopted 6 more. There is a real international feeling in that house. She works at home in a messily creative studio as a designer who sells things at places like Saks Fifth Avenue.

The admiral's kids are all quite regimented. They keep a tidy ship, adhere rigidly to written schedules and call their father "Admiral", which I thought sort of odd despite 22 years in the Navy myself. My children call me "Dad". But I digress. Russo is raising her children to be free-thinking spirits.

There would be no movie if the designer and the admiral didn't get together. The "conflict" that must be resolved is between the military brats and the flower children.

There is much to scoff at. There are several frenzied scenes of physical comedy - all ending with Quaid covered with wet stuff. With 20 family members there is scarcely a moment for any degree of character development. Rip Torn is absolutely fantastic in the right role - here he is badly miscast as the Commandant of the Coast Guard. At one point he is so pleased at the promotion of his subordinate Quaid that he lifts him off the ground in a big bear hug in one of those big Washington, D.C. rotundas. All the Admirals I know in real life are slightly more reserved in large public places. A portion of the family conflict comes when Quaid's 2-star Admiral is nominated to become the replacement for 4-Star Torn. This is about as realistic as the person who just got the job supervising orientation of new employees to the Ford Motor Company suddenly being named CEO. I know this sort of plot device happens in film all the time, but even a kindergarden understanding of arithmetic would allow you to know that a 2-Star Admiral doesn't replace a 4-Star without that intermediate 3-Star step.

Still - I liked it. I liked the couple. I liked the kids. I wanted things to work out for them.

I wouldn't cancel a trip to "Pride and Prejudice" or "King Kong" to see this, but if your kids or significant other drags you to it, don't run screaming.

A Welcome Family Comedy
It's not everyday that you can walk up to the DVD rack in your local department store and pick up a flick that everyone in the family can enjoy, but "Yours, Mine & Ours" is one such flick. I wasn't expecting much from this film at first. I only picked it up because it's PG and looked harmless enough for everyone to watch. In other words, I skipped out on flicks like "Underworld: Evolution" and "Wolf Creek" in order to watch a film with my entire family.

I was quite surprised by this family film. Sure, I've seen funnier flicks with a PG (and even G) rating, but this film rolls along at a frantic pace with pratfalls galore and plenty of "aw, shucks" humor. It has a certain appeal to it that makes you feel as if you've gotten your money's worth. Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo are funny as the heads of two separate and very different families who become one whenever Quaid and Russo marry unannounced to their children. Oh, and I've forgotten to mention that Quaid had eight children and Russo has ten (four biologically, six adopted).

There's little room for character development. In fact, I couldn't give you but maybe two or three of the elder children's names. Quaid's bunch are regimental, what with a military father at the helm. Russo's kids are free spirited and artistic, without a care in the world. The kids hate living with each other, so they devise a plan to breakup their new parents. Of course, this leads to an obvious bonding of the families that makes for a predictable ending, but it's done with so much silliness that it manages to work.

Rip Torn and Linda Hunt have minor roles in the film, though I must say that Hunt's nanny role is hilarious at times. The rest of the cast does a solid job. Youngsters and hip parents such as myself will recognize Drake Bell and the girl who plays his little sis, Megan, on "Drake and Josh." Even hipper parents will pick out Danielle Panabaker, who's made a name for herself on the Disney Channel and in another recent wonderful family comedy, "Sky High."

Predictable, silly, and sometimes too sugary sweet, I still feel that "Yours, Mine & Ours" deserves a modest four stars. It's a wonderful film for the whole family to watch together, and I think Nickelodeon is well on its way to making even better family films.

Be Careful What You Wish For
These ninety minutes will fly by if you think a noisy house full of squabbling kids sounds familiar, or if it sounds like something you mistakenly believed you'd never miss. The storyline is an easy pop-up: a Coast Guard admiral with eight disciplined children impulsively marries his high school sweetheart, a widow dedicated to encouraging her ten children to find themselves through creative expression. The kids simply don't get along, and when they aren't playing pranks on each other they start playing pranks on their parents to try to get them to split up. There's not much individual character development for the children; they make The Brady Bunch look like Shakespeare. But the parents are portrayed as realistic adults with whom it is easy to identify. Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo have a warmly human comic touch and a tangible, memorable chemistry. Their housekeeper Mrs. Munyon is, unfortunately, no Alice: she is irresponsible, uncouth, and unfunny. At the other end of the spectrum is Quaid's boss, played by Rip Torn in a performance that leaves you hungering for more. Quaid, Russo, and Torn provide more than enough reason to go out and buy a ticket.