“Cheaper by the Dozen 2” is an improvement over 2003’s “Cheaper by the Dozen,” which was a dismal movie but a big family-film hit. Having said that, I will also say that “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” is a chore to sit through – and even more dispiriting because the great Steve Martin has chosen to fritter away a large part of his career in things like this.

I have successfully blocked out most of the 2003 picture, except to recall what seemed like many scenes of children throwing scrambled eggs at each other. I guess in theory I don’t have anything against children throwing scrambled eggs at each other, but I don’t want to spend nine bucks to see it at the multiplex, either.

That movie was very loosely adapted from a book of the same title and the classic 1950 Clifton Webb film. Steve Martin played a football coach – right – raising 12 kids with his incredibly fruitful wife, Bonnie Hunt.

The sequel takes the family to a Labor Day vacation at Lake Winnetka. It’s still the dad and mom and their 12 kids.

The kid actors have returned. Oldest daughter Piper Perabo is pregnant, oldest son Tom Welling is a mechanic, and daughter Hilary Duff is graduating from high school. As befits any high-school girl who comes from this family, Duff has adopted the look of a high-priced call girl, with sunken cheeks and heavy black mascara.

The big story line is that a hard-charging old rival, played by Eugene Levy, is living at the lake (with trophy wife Carmen Electra) and once again feeling competitive. His overachieving family vies with Martin’s laid-back brood in a series of outdoorsy activities.

Eugene Levy’s tanned lounge lizard is a hopeful sign, but not for long. Rest assured that hugs and slapstick prevail (a man in a wheelchair is the butt of a few jokes).

The message: Don’t be strict with your kids, like Levy’s disciplinarian. Just let them do whatever they want, and everything will work out fine. Hmm, no wonder kids like to see these movies (the current clone “Yours, Mine and Ours” has also been a hit). No rules and an endless supply of playmates. Still, I’d rather not spend nine bucks at the multiplex for that.