Admiral Frank Beardsley returns to New London to run the Coast Guard Academy, his last stop before a probable promotion to head the Guard. A widower with eight children, he runs a loving but tight ship, with charts and salutes. The kids long for a permanent home. Helen North is a free spirit, a designer whose ten children live in loving chaos, with occasional group hugs. Helen and Frank, high school sweethearts, reconnect at a reunion, and it's love at first re-sighting. They marry on the spot. Then the problems start as two sets of kids, the free spirits and the disciplined preppies, must live together. The warring factions agree to work together to end the marriage.

Directed by

Raja Gosnell

Written by

Ron Burch, David Kidd

Genres

Comedy, Family, Romance

Released

November 23, 2005

Runtime

1h 30m

Status

Released

Language

English

Countries

United States of America

Studios

Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Robert Simonds Productions

Budget

$45,000,000

Box office

$72,028,752