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Review #444 of 365
Movie Review of Are We Done Yet (2007) [PG] 92 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.00
When 1st Seen: 10 April 2007
Time: 4:55 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: Steve Carr(Rebound)
Screenplay and Story by: Hank Nelken (Saving Silverman) based on characters by Steven Gary Banks and Claudia Grazioso and the motion picture Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Ice Cube (xXx: State of the Union) • Nia Long (Premonition) • John C. McGinley (Wild Hogs) • Aleisha Allen (Are We There Yet?) • Philip Bolden (How to Eat Fried Worms)
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House starring Carey Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvin Douglas somehow becomes the idea for the plot to the sequel to Ice Cube's 2005 comedy vehicle Are We There Yet?. Unfortunately, I've seen neither film (meaning neither Are We There Yet? nor Mr. Blandings), which didn't much matter, perhaps, to my opinion of Ice Cube's follow up called, fittingly, Are We Done Yet? Don't be too hard on this film. It's not spectacular, nor is it disastrous. The movie does a lot of things right. It doesn't take the low row in physical comedy with constant pain directed at certain body parts. It believes in dreams: families making change, people taking on risky new careers, teens living in the country away from malls, and most of all family members working together to build a home. The casting was perfection—though apparently the principles were just recycled from the first film, they had excellent chemistry for their new foil, Chuck Mitchell, Jr. played by John C. McGinley. Well, that's not fair, really, Chuck is not the foil, the new house is the foil, but Chuck sells them the house and then proceeds to turn out to be the town's only licensed contractor capable of doing the many thousands of dollars of repairs the creeky old house with dry rot and bad wiring needs to be brought up to code and common standards of living.
"…somewhat repetitive and predictable…mostly family friendly comedy."
Oh, and Chuck is also the town's only licensed inspector of the work needed. Oh, and he's also a midwife, and it's a pregnancy with twins that finally pushes Nick (Ice Cube) and Suzanne (Nia Long) Persons to move their family including Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) and Kevin (Philip Bolden) from Nick's cramped apartment in Portland to a small town in rural Oregon. Fortunately, Chuck has studied in Switzerland all of the most modern techniques in midwifery and pre-birth relaxation techniques, or poor Suzanne probably would not survive the home construction projects in store for them. As for Nick, he's recently sold his half of his sporting goods store to pursue his dream of publishing a sports magazine. His dream cover, and that which landed him the advance to publish, is Magic Johnson. Getting Magic, however, is proving more problematic than he perceived initially and this compounds the angst he faces brought on by the catastrophe that is his new house, Chuck's magical ability to show him up knowledge and skill wise at every turn encroaching on his position in the family, and the kids incessant nagging about not wanting to live in the country. In many ways, though exaggerated a bit or maybe not, their life exemplifies the life of so many middle class USAers trying to make it in this new age.
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Director Steve Carr has taken Hank Nelken's humorous script and Ice Cube's and Nia Long's on-screen husband/wife chemistry blended with John C. McGinley's comedic style to make a low concept, mostly family friendly comedy. Some people probably won't like it because it is rather tame. It is also somewhat repetitive and predictable in its repetitiveness—not usually thought of as great qualities of a good film. The animated opening sequence was a nice salute to the past as well as were the more good-natured aspect to the story that proves that you can still make a decent comedy without foul language, gross out scenes, and persistent injury to particular body parts.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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Other Projects Featuring Are We Done Yet? (2007)
Cast Members
Ice Cube
• Nia Long • John C. McGinleyAleisha Allen
• Philip BoldenDirector
Steve Carr
Writer
Hank Nelken
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Are We Done Yet? (2007) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House starring Carey Grant and Myrna Loy becomes the plot to the sequel of Ice Cube's 2005 comedy vehicle Are We There Yet? called Are We Done Yet?. Don't be too hard on it. It's not spectacular, nor is it disastrous. The movie does a lot of things right--believing in dreams: people taking on risky new careers, teens living in the country away from malls, and most of all family members working together to build a home. Perfect casting of the principles (some recycled from the first film) led to excellent chemistry for their new foil, Chuck Mitchell, Jr. (John C. McGinley). The animated opening sequence was a nice salute to the past as well as were the good-natured aspects of the story that prove Hollywood can still make a decent comedy without foul language, gross-out scenes, and persistent injury to particular body parts.
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