Are We There Yet?
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Movie Reviews of Are We There Yet?
Movie Review: Cringing throughout a comedy is not a good thing
Summary: 3 Stars
There is quite a bit of perilous tightrope walking involved in mixing violent slapstick comedy and heartfelt pathos. Charlie Chaplin did it a lot and you can certainly point to the original "Home Alone" as being a successful mix. But in the former the target of the physical attacks was usually some guy twice the Little Tramp's size and in the latter it was the Wet Bandits. That is not the case with "Are We There Yet?" There are certainly some laughs to be had in this 2005 comedy, but for the most part I find myself cringing at what was happening on screen and the only reason director Brian Levant's film gets 3 stars is because there are a few success and rather important moments of pathos in this mess.
Nick Persons (Ice Cube) has an upper scale sports collectible store and a brand-new Lincoln Navigator, when he is smitten by the sight of Suzanne Kingston (Nia Long). The bad news is that she is a single mom with a pair of terror tots, Lindsy (Aleisha Allen) and Kevin (Philip Daniel Bolden), who have been taking care of all of mom's would-be boyfriends. They are waiting for their mom to reconcile with their dad. Nick wants nothing to do with children, but he and Suzanne become friends and when she has to go to Vancouver for work and her ex-husband bails on having the kids for New Year's, he ends up agreeing to transport the kids and the madness begins.
The core problem here is that these kids are viscous little monsters who physically assault innocent men. This is not cute little Kevin hurting the bad guys who are trying to rob his home, but two kids going after every guy who wants to date their mother. It is not funny it is mean. It is also dangerous, which gets us to another key problem with this movie in terms of how many times the attempted humor has to do with cars and trucks. In other words, situations that in the real world would get these kids killed are repeatedly done for laughs in this movie. Watching a couple of kids screaming while the car they are in is squeezed against the railing on the highway by a fully loaded semi-truck is not all that funny in the real world and we kept cringing through all of these types of scenes (there are several). Granted, it is not wise to confuse a movie with the real world, but there are moments when this film wants to talk to the reality that there are a large number of African-American children being raised without their fathers living in the house. More importantly, those are the best moments in the film.
This is because Nick is not a bad guy, which is the flip side to the core problem, and another reason to cringe every time they go after him. Nick thinks he does not like children and this particular pair of demons give him ample reason to reinforce that idea, but when these children need help, physical or psychological, he immediately goes to their help. The latter is the more important part, because you know full well that these children are going to get their comeuppance when they find out the truth about their father and the moments in which Nick talks to the kids, as opposed to screaming or sticking out his tongue at them, are the best moments in this film because they are the most real.
The fault for this film is to be found in the screenplay by Steven Gary Banks, Claudia Grazioso, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss (four writers is rarely a good sign), because the performances by Ice Cub and the two kids are fine given what was written (Long is reduced to a minor part in the story, which is why the resolution is problematic for me). Jay Mohr has a small part in this film as Marty, Nick's friend who keeps reminding him of how much he does not like kids, and Tracy Morgan does the voice of the Satchel Paige bobble-head doll that Nick has on the dashboard of his vehicle (who does Nick think will be watching DVDs in the backseat if he does not like children?). It was also great to see Nichelle Nichols in a bit part as Miss Mable. What would have been even better was a film that dealt more realistically with the basic idea, which is certainly an important one.
Movie Review: Enjoyable and Yet Disturbing
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to confess that I really enjoyed this movie. The Ice Cube of today is a long way removed from the gun toting, foul mouthed Ice Cube of the gang movie and hip hop culture of the early 1990s. Don't get me wrong: Boyz in the Hood is an important film, and his early rap albums are some of the best in the genre.
But in this movie, Ice Cube is downright loveable and cuddly, and he gives a refreshingly domesticated performance as Nick Persons. Nick tries to woo an attractive divorcee (Nia Long) into dating him by taking her kids on a long distance trip to Vancouver. I guess the idea is that if he can do her this favor and show that he is making an effort to bond with the children, she will receive him.
But everything that could possibly go wrong on this trip goes wrong. The kids turn out to be hellishly behaved kids, almost as bad as some of the characters that Ice Cube has played in the past, and undeniably more annoying.
The things the kids do to torture poor Nick can hardly be construed as humor in retrospect, but that is how the gags are presented. The movie turns around at the halfway point when Nick starts to love the children in spite of the fact that they are abusing him, and the kids start to love Nick in spite of the fact that he likes their mom.
Up until the movie's midway point, you can't help but wonder, "Who in the world would want anything to do with these rotten kids? Why doesn't Nick just turn around and drop them off back the house and movie on with his life?" The movie's answer is a poignant tribute to unconditional parental love.
The gags are cruel, the kids are mean, and Nick's Lincoln Navigator is destined for eternal destruction, but the movie ends up winning you over after a faltering start.
Movie Review: Family Friendly Fun
Summary: 3 Stars
There is nothing great in this film, but it does have its moments and is pleasing entertainment. Ice Cube believably loses his bad-boy image, Nia Long is always both pleasing to watch and believable in this limited role, and the child actors are cute, but they always look like they are acting. These same two kids again play brother and sister later with Eddie Murphy in Disney's "The Haunted Mansion."
The script is cliche-ridden and predictable, and the direction is pedestrian at best; however, the film is also enjoyable in spite of these flaws. We get a typical guy all hot for a woman whom he discovers later has kids that are resentful of anyone trying to take their father's place. This "road" story has Ice Cube, hoping to get in the good graces of the very hot Nia Long, take the kids to see her in Vancouver, Canada where she is working because her lame ex-husband has bailed out on having the kids (again . . . ). The trio start off hating each other, but end up feeling like a family before all is said and done.
Some good moments: the slow, painful distruction of Cube's Lincoln Navigator, the wacko deer, and the good-intentioned, but easily fooled truck driver. Again, this is harmless family fun entertainment even with it's "been there, done that" feel.
Movie Review: How not to do a Road Trip in one easy Lesson
Summary: 3 Stars
I can't speak for kids but I would think most younger kids may find this funny. Teens may be a hit or miss. My wife and I enjoyed it and we laughed out loud at several scenes like the car sick boy and the crazed deer in the woods. The kids are so unbelievably bad you have to laugh. They go from the most obnoxious kids on Earth to decent ones once they see their dad has another life now. Ice Cube goes from a gigolo to a family man in a life changing turn of events. Overall we found it entertaining and would recommend to families. I personally have not seen a movie cut just like this as some critics indicate. I think it has replayability and so I bought a copy. This road trip movie is likely to entertain those that found the "Home Alone", "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", or "Jingle All the Way" movies funny. Keep in mind this is a far-out comedy and you would never meet people like this on the street. I think some people get to wrapped up in how unrealistic the people are in the movie, especially the kids. If you took one or two things the kids do it would be believable. But they take all the worst things kids do and that is the point. They show the worst and best of people to make us laugh. It does my heart good to hear other kids call these kids horrible brats.Movie Review: SOMEWHAT BUMPY RIDE
Summary: 3 Stars
While this movie has some funny moments, the problem with ARE WE THERE YET is that the kids are soooo bad, I never ended up liking them, even after their semi-metamorphosis. Having been the product of a broken home, my parent's divorce did nothing quite so drastic to our homelife. The kids are out and out mean, and this makes me thing Nia Long's mother didn't have the parenting skills to deal with being a single mom either. I found nothing "cute" about their behavior and don't really understand how Ice Cube put up with them as well as he did.
Touting this as a "family" movie is truly hypocritical, as it does nothing but give kids the go ahead to do mean and hateful things and then just laugh them off. Ice even manages to lose his very expensive Navigator and still wants to be a papa to the brats. I can't totally trash the movie, but I would not recommend it for any young children as it is certainly not the kind of movie I would want my little ones to see.