“Are We There Yet” (Sony Pictures)
Ice Cube goes for the family trade with his new film “Are We There Yet” The film is kid friendly in most ways but not so friendly in others. There are some good lessons to be learned from this movie but also some bad ones. So parents better be ready to spell out the good as opposed to the bad.
Ice Cube plays Nick, a long time bachelor who lights up when he meets Suzanne (Nia Long). Suzanne is a divorcee with two kids, Lindsay and Kevin (played by Aleisha Allen and Philip Bolden). These two are determined that mom and dad are going to get back together so they discourage any new suitors from the start. But Nick is persistent. Even though he doesn’t like kids, he does like Suzanne. He even volunteers to fly with the kids up to Vancouver where she is going to be working.
At the airport the kids drop a corkscrew into Nick’s pockets and he sets off the security alarm. They don’t get on the plane. This is bad lesson number one. Playing any tricks while going through security is a big non no.
Later the kids try to convince a trucker they are being kidnapped. This is the second no no. You don’t play around with claiming “kidnapping.” This could get someone like Nick in big trouble and the kids too.
The rest of the film is basically one round after another of Nick versus the kids and vice versa. It is all in good fun and it makes for a fairly likeable film. But the movie runs on just a few minutes too long and the adult audience attention span is reached and passed.
Cube is okay as the beleaguered Nick, but the transition from kid hater to kid lover is not believable in the least. These kids are so bratty they couldn’t win anyone over. Plus they cost him a ton of money and cause his beloved car to become junk fodder.
The movie is rated PG for violence and profanity.
“Are We There Yet” has its heart in the right place but the bad examples plus the endless running time make it a movie to endure rather than enjoy. Adult audience members will be crying, “Is it over yet”
I scored “Are We There Yet” a tripped 4 out of 10.
