Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet? (2005)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Brian Levant

Starring: Ice Cube, Nia Long, Aleisha Allen, Phillip Bolden, Jay Mohr, M.C. Gainey

From: Columbia/Revolution

For those wondering why in the world I would watch this movie for the first time as a middle-aged adult-what an explanation I have. Like recently mentioned, the preceding few days for me were incredibly hectic; this includes lunchtime yesterday, when me and Dad ate at a restaurant w/ a relative. That relative is moving away so they won’t be seen again for awhile. At that hole-in-the-wall BBQ restaurant, one television played this movie. More on that at the end.

I never gave this movie a shot in the past; a movie rated PG from the former “crazy MF’er named Ice Cube” & viewing it as an adult seemed a waste. Yeah, it’s a movie where innocent men have to deal with monster children—because they hope that their mom Nia Long reunites with their father. Despite Cube hating kids (an opinion warranted by what happens in the film) he falls for Long, which is understandable. Ice is forced to transport the children from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, Canada—they make his life a living hell.

It's not a movie I loathed, which was the expected outcome. The children act terribly at first but of course their behavior does improve. Still, before then they wreck his brand-new Lincoln Navigator (there is an explanation for that despite his current job of “co-owning a sports collectibles store”), among other heinous acts. Yet, the adults in the film do a fine job-including M.C. Gainey as a trucker-the child performers weren’t horrible actors, and there were some laughs & slapstick moments. No, I’m not interested in the sequel (which somehow is a remake of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House!) but Yet was not a struggle to finish.

AWTY was a straightforward presentation, except for one bizarre element completely out of left field. Cube has a bobblehead of Satchel Paige, a legendary pitcher from the Negro Leagues way back when. This bobblehead TALKS to Ice Cube and they have conversations with each other! What in the blue blazes of tarnation was going on with that? Is the viewer supposed to think that his character is schizophrenic? The CG effect on his face also just looked wrong to my eye, making the experience far more unnerving.

As for my time at the restaurant yesterday, it was fun. Besides this random movie on TV, the audio we heard was from another television; it had on some sort of music station that was “Billy Joel Radio.” No, not his songs, but rather Boomer tunes from the 70’s and 80’s, meaning I liked all those tunes. What sad news then to come home and hear that Joel has fallen ill. The best to him; while I only know his most famous songs, I like listening to most of them.