(2007)
2
Derek Armstrong
Throw The Money Pit, Mouse Hunt, and The Great Outdoors into a blender, then set the blending speed on "manic." This should give you some idea what to expect from Are We Done Yet? Ice Cube is a good sport to return for his second Are We ____ Yet? movie, the first of which wasn't quite good enough to warrant a sequel. But at least it was better than this film, which has a couple big demerits working against it: 1) Without a road trip to keep the story moving forward, the narrative stalls out; 2) Child stars Aleisha Allen and Philip Daniel Bolden -- who were key to whatever charm there was in Are We There Yet? -- are now stuck in their awkward middle years, left with little plot function. The film also gets a big dose of annoying from natural scenery chewer John C. McGinley, who's asked by director Steve Carr to caffeinate his acting style even further. Bugging out not only his eyes, but also his teeth and the very skin of his face, McGinley plays the realtor who sells Cube and family their lemon of a house -- then changes hats so he's also the contractor, the building inspector, even the midwife to expectant mother Suzanne (Nia Long). But at least McGinley's scenes provide relief from the endless episodes of Cube wrestling with some woodland creature bent on worsening his circumstances, be it raccoon, hawk, or fish, each of which ends with Cube falling through a floor, wall, or ceiling. Are We Done Yet? is a family movie, so of course it has its share of heart. But just because the characters are well-meaning, and just because they learn lessons, and just because everyone's smiling at the end, doesn't make it a good movie.
Are We Done Yet? on AllMovie
Are We Done Yet? (2007)
