After the success of Father of the Bride MGM wasted no time churning out a sequel. Appropriately enough, Father's Little Dividend arrived in theaters nine months after the wedding. Director Vincente Minnelli and stars Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor returned for this second installment. This time around the young bride is in the family way, a situation that couldn't have been more topical in 1951, the peak year of the baby boom generation.

Like the first movie the story is narrated by and told from Stanley Banks (Tracy) point of view. Just when he has recovered from his daughter's wedding he learns that she is pregnant. The humor is predictable. There are the typical arguments between the paternal and maternal grandparents over baby names and such, and several false alarms before the baby is actually born. The early fifties suburban neighborhood portrayed in Father's Little Dividend helped set the stage for all those family sitcoms that would become so popular later in the decade, and it has as little to do with the real world.

The cast, fortunately, was able to lift the material to a higher entertainment plane than it truthfully deserved. Spencer Tracy, the most natural actor ever to grace the screen, lives up to his reputation. He makes Stanley loveable despite his crotchety cluelessness. Elizabeth Taylor is perfect as the radiant young expectant mother. She is impossibly beautiful and shows a flare for comedy. Joan Bennett, Billie Burke and Russ Tamblyn all shine in supporting roles.

Far from a great movie, Father's Little Dividend is still worth watching thanks to a great cast performing at the top of their game.

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