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Pointless family movies are another disease in Hollywood. Every year without failure the studios continue to roll out standard by-the-numbers family movies that are clichéd beyond all belief. Why do the studios do this? Simple - because they don't cost much to make and they are capable of pulling in stacks of money from the younger audience.
Are We There Yet? is yet another indescribably appalling mess of a family movie in the vein of those aforementioned clichéd family flicks. The only difference is that this film is one of the worst I have experienced in a long time, and it's a film that I wish had never come to fruition.
Nick Persons (Cube) is a swinging bachelor who meets divorced attractive single mother Suzanne (Long). As Suzanne leaves on a business trip, her ex-husband cancels his plans to take care of the kids...and Nick volunteers to take them. From there the film sinks into the world of clichés, predictability and just plain unoriginality as Nick takes the kids in his new car to Vancouver to meet with Suzanne. The two kids have never liked any of the men her mum has dated in the past...and of course try everything they're capable of to make the trip a nightmare for Nick.
It's typical black comedy we've seen millions of times before as things get destroyed and begin going from bad to worse (not to mention the complete implausibility of a deer turning into Mohammad Ali and beating the crap out of Ice Cube).
Are We There Yet? is the typical American family film strictly for the kids - i.e. corny lines, cheesy, happy ending, predictable, impossible events just for the sake of getting a giggle out of a child...gee, I could go on all day. I think it goes without saying that the acting, directing, screenwriting - basically the all round filmmaking is typical for the genre.
Ice Cube has done some good work in the past. I haven't seen any excellent work from him and I don't expect him to. But hell, he has got to make some good career moves. Anaconda, xXx: The Next Level and now this pile of manure. The two young performers playing the kids are both annoying little snots. We're not supposed to like them and hence have motivation to empathise with Ice Cube's situation. However it's a little hard to do this when it's really clear that the only reason Ice Cube's character is doing this is to get into the good books of a pretty woman. And this is supposed to be a film for the kids?
The ending was the final insult, and the last nail in the coffin. It's the same movie we've seen billions of times before with a different title slapped on it. Ice Cube...your career is over and all previous respect I had for you is gone.
1/10
