I'll be the first to admit that 'Are We There Yet?' is pretty atrocious. In fact, thinking about it, I have to wonder why I even wanted to see 'Are We Done Yet?' when its predecessor was so awful.
To my surprise, this turned out to be one of the most entertaining family movies I have seen in a long time. Admitedly, I don't go and see too many, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun this movie was. I find it incredible that this film is, as of this writing, number 29 in the list of worst films ever on IMDb. That said, 'V for Vendetta' (one of the worst films ever made, in my opinion) is in the top 250, so what does it really mean? What astounds me is that 'Are We There Yet?' is better rated than its sequel, which outdoes it in almost every way. Don't get me wrong, this is not Tarkovsky. It's stupid and childish and essentially pointless, but guess what - that's the point, it's a family film. Taken in this context, it is a more than passable way to spend 100 minutes of your time.
Ice Cube, who looked and felt a little out of place in the first film, has eased into this character nicely and has really developed some fine comic timing. To be able to go from "the nigga you love to hate" to a genuinely amusing turn in a family comedy is not something many people could do with any degree of success, but Cube pulls it off.
The kids are less annoying than they were in the first film, but the writers have again failed to give the audience any reason to like them, even a little. Consequently, the most unfeasible thing about Cube's character is that he hasn't murdered them yet. What the writers have managed to do here is give Nia Long a bit more to work with. In 'Are We There Yet?' it was hard to imagine what Cube's character saw in her (aside from the obvious) but she's actually a lot more endearing here, and she looks divine.
The real surprise was John C McGinley, whom I expected to suck royally. While he's not known for comedy and has made some ropey choices over the years (notable exceptions being 'Platoon', 'Point Break' and 'Seven'), he almost makes this film. His character is ridiculous, and the biggest mistake he and the director could have made would have been to try and ground the character in any sort of reality. Thankfully they didn't, and McGinley consequently provides some of the best moments in the movie. The twist in the character's back story actually manages to be quite moving too.
All things considered, its hard to fault a film that is under no pretence about its intentions. This is nothing more or less than good family fun. The fact that it is also well paced, well designed and has fantastic music supervision only adds to my admiration.
If you go to see this film for the right reason, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised (I urge you not to be put off by its predecessor). If you go into it looking for a reason to bad-mouth it, I have one thing to say to you; Get a life, it's a frigging family film!
To my surprise, this turned out to be one of the most entertaining family movies I have seen in a long time. Admitedly, I don't go and see too many, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun this movie was. I find it incredible that this film is, as of this writing, number 29 in the list of worst films ever on IMDb. That said, 'V for Vendetta' (one of the worst films ever made, in my opinion) is in the top 250, so what does it really mean? What astounds me is that 'Are We There Yet?' is better rated than its sequel, which outdoes it in almost every way. Don't get me wrong, this is not Tarkovsky. It's stupid and childish and essentially pointless, but guess what - that's the point, it's a family film. Taken in this context, it is a more than passable way to spend 100 minutes of your time.
Ice Cube, who looked and felt a little out of place in the first film, has eased into this character nicely and has really developed some fine comic timing. To be able to go from "the nigga you love to hate" to a genuinely amusing turn in a family comedy is not something many people could do with any degree of success, but Cube pulls it off.
The kids are less annoying than they were in the first film, but the writers have again failed to give the audience any reason to like them, even a little. Consequently, the most unfeasible thing about Cube's character is that he hasn't murdered them yet. What the writers have managed to do here is give Nia Long a bit more to work with. In 'Are We There Yet?' it was hard to imagine what Cube's character saw in her (aside from the obvious) but she's actually a lot more endearing here, and she looks divine.
The real surprise was John C McGinley, whom I expected to suck royally. While he's not known for comedy and has made some ropey choices over the years (notable exceptions being 'Platoon', 'Point Break' and 'Seven'), he almost makes this film. His character is ridiculous, and the biggest mistake he and the director could have made would have been to try and ground the character in any sort of reality. Thankfully they didn't, and McGinley consequently provides some of the best moments in the movie. The twist in the character's back story actually manages to be quite moving too.
All things considered, its hard to fault a film that is under no pretence about its intentions. This is nothing more or less than good family fun. The fact that it is also well paced, well designed and has fantastic music supervision only adds to my admiration.
If you go to see this film for the right reason, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised (I urge you not to be put off by its predecessor). If you go into it looking for a reason to bad-mouth it, I have one thing to say to you; Get a life, it's a frigging family film!