|
Are We There
Yet
Release Date:
January 21, 2005
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Brian Levant
Screenwriter: Steven Gary Banks, Claudia Grazioso, J.
David Stem, David N. Weiss
Starring: Ice Cube, Nia Long, Jay Mohr, Tracy
Morgan, Aleisha Allen, Philip Bolden, M.C. Gainey, C. Ernst
Harth, Nichelle Nichols, Henry Simmons
Genre: Comedy,
Romance
MPAA Rating: PG (for language and rude humor)
Official Website:
SonyPictures.com
Plot Summary: In
Revolution Studios' family comedy "Are We There Yet?," Nick
(Ice Cube), a smooth operator, is trying to land a date with
Suzanne (Nia Long). Problem is Suzanne, a divorcee, is stuck
working in Vancouver and miserable because she misses her
kids. Seizing the opportunity, Nick gallantly offers to make
her wish come true - and his own in the process - by
bringing seven-year-old Kevin (Philip Bolden) and
eleven-year-old Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) up from Portland,
Oregon to be reunited with their mom. What Nick doesn't know
is that Suzanne's children think that no man is good enough
for their mom and will do everything they can to make the
trip a nightmare for him. Fasten your seat belts, it's going
to be a bumpy ride.
Review By
Peter Veugelaers
- Almost phony baloney
Director Brain Levant is a veteran of family movies having
helmed forgettable flicks The Flintstones and
Problem Child 2, among others, during the 1990s. His
last movie was Snow Dogs which is only significant
because of what it reveals about its star Cuba Gooding Jr’s
flagging career since impressing in Jerry Maguire. In
Levant’s latest, Are We There Yet?, divorce and
fatherlessness is sentimentalised. It focuses on what
divorce does to young children (perhaps including, in
exaggerated terms, their temperaments!) and the importance
of a father figure in their lives.
Ice Cube steals the show who is appealing as thirty-something bachelor Nick
chasing the beautiful Suzanne (Nia Long), a divorcee with two children. It is
New Year’s and Nick helps Suzanne move the kids to Vancouver for celebrations
because she is held up. He wants to curry favour with Suzanne because she is
gorgeous.
Comedies today have been parodying and subverting their own Hollywood formulas
(such as the sequel to Deuce Bigelow), and Are We There Yet
exaggerates and reworks the romantic clichés and Home Alone cum
Planes, Trains and Automobiles holiday sensibilities. But the results are a
series of lame set pieces involving two precocious (but lovable, of course) kids
giving Nick a hard time on the journey into Canada.
There are, however, some good jokes thrown in, including Nick’s little baseball
“angel” and the “frontier justice” and “speed kills” quips, but the humour has a
tendency to be less childish than adult, making this a more sophisticated family
film. You could expect this from star Ice Cube whose humour has been raw and
edgy in the Friday and Barbershop series, this movie is his foray
into the family genre, and he holds a peculiar charm in the lead.
We would love to know what you think, sound off on the
movie message boards and let us know how you liked the movie!
|
|
|
Trailer:
QuickTime, Hi-Res
QuickTime, Med-Res
QuickTime, Lo-Res
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Hi-Res
Real Player, Lo-Res
Clip 1 - 'Mom, Where Have You Been?':
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Hi-Res
Real Player, Lo-Res
Clip 2 - 'Moving Train':
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Hi-Res
Real Player, Lo-Res
Clip 3 - 'Little Girl':
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Hi-Res
Real Player, Lo-Res
Clip 4 - 'Horse Rider':
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Hi-Res
Real Player, Lo-Res
Clip 5 - 'Deer Fight':
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Hi-Res
Real Player, Lo-Res |
|
