Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) - 7 questions

Question: When Hanks sings "Every once in a while." he has a guitar with him but he hardly uses it while he sings. He strikes it once or twice but soft enough for the sound to be virtually non-existent. Is that a mistake, or was that meant to happen for comedic purposes, or doesn't the song require that much effort with a guitar?

Answer: He's not really a musician. He is just messing around.

Question: What does Hank mean when he tells Nora (in the car) that he's sure paying for her family?

Answer: He is paying for her family in an emotional way. He wants to be with Nora but has to put up with the young kid's antics.

Question: What is the "slide" that Mark finds in his room?

Answer: It's never explained - possibly a fire escape, heating vent or laundry chute.

Question: Does anyone know why Ashton's name didn't appear in the credits?

Answer: When and where an actor's name appears in a movie's credits affects his (or her) leverage in future contracts. It's not uncommon for a big-name actor taking a relatively small role to not appear in the credits rather than lose money on the next project.

Question: This question is for the Australian release of the DVD. On the cover, it says in the Special Features menu that there is an easter egg. Since there are no easter eggs listed for this movie, does anyone know what it is?

Answer: To access the Cheaper by the Dozen easter egg, go to the special features menu, highlight the bottom option on the list, not the back option, and press right. The easter egg is a Tommymax commercial.

Question: Does it seem strange to anyone else that these kids, including teenagers, can't help take care of themselves for two weeks? My family has six kids and we can function for a week or two when Mom and Dad go out of town. In a large family, parents usually raise their children to help out a lot more and be more responsible.

Answer: It seems that the fact the family can't take care of themselves is added to part of the humour of the film. 12 children is a lot, and think about all those rows and all that mess.

Question: I haven't seen the whole movie and I was wondering why they were calling the one boy "FedEx"?

Answer: He doesn't look like the other 11 kids, so his siblings told him he wasn't really one of them, but had been dropped off by the FedEx man.