Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Logo

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Done Yet?' Don't start | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Special Sections
    • Contact Us
    • Plus
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Local News
    • Photos
    • Crime
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Job Spotlight
    • Georgia
    • Business
    • Nation/World
    • Lottery
    • Sports
    • Alabama
    • Auburn
    • Braves
    • Columbus State University
    • Cottonmouths
    • Falcons
    • Hawks
    • High Schools
    • UGA
    • Blogs & Columns
    • War Eagle Extra
    • Bulldogs Blog
    • Valley Preps
    • Guerry Clegg
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • ToDo
    • Living
    • Dining
    • Celebrations
    • Outdoors
    • Faith
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Blogs & Columns
    • War Eagle Extra
    • Bulldogs Blog
    • Guerry Clegg
    • Tim Chitwood
    • Richard Hyatt
    • Ledger Inquirer
    • Valley Preps
    • Chuck Williams
    • Dimon Kendrick-Holmes
    • Alva James-Johnson
    • Natalia Naman Temesgen
    • Chris Johnson
    • Opinion
    • Forum
    • Letters
    • Dusty Nix
    • Sound Off
  • Obituaries
  • Readers' Choice

  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

Latest News

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Done Yet?' Don't start

By CARLA MEYER - The Sacramento Bee

    ORDER REPRINT →

April 06, 2007 02:44 PM

The 2005 family road comedy "Are We There Yet?" was not, by any stretch of the interstate or the imagination, a good film.

Yet it held undeniable appeal: Through its tale of a bachelor terrorized, "Home Alone"-style, by two kids, we saw the completion of Ice Cube's slow transformation into Tim Allen.

There also were a few moments when pranks perpetrated by the kids came as a surprise. Such unpredictability is missing from the flat sequel, "Are We Done Yet?" which opens today.Monterrey Bay Aquarium

When now-family man Nick Persons (Ice Cube) steps onto the roof of his crumbling dream house, we know his footing won't be solid for long. When his family, which includes his nemeses-turned-stepchildren, sits down to dinner, it's only a matter of time before the chandelier becomes a side dish.

SIGN UP

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Ledger-Enquirer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

The slipshod slapstick begins even before Nick, pregnant wife Suzanne (Nia Long) and her kids, Lindsey and Kevin (Aleisha Allen and Philip Daniel Bolden), move to the suburbs. A morning of family high jinks in Nick's now-cramped bachelor pad will leave him, quite literally, with egg on his face.

"Are We Done Yet?" is labored in origin as well as in execution, with credits that would take a crane to lift. Directed by Steve Carr, the film is a sequel but also based on the 1948 Cary Grant film "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," already evoked by the Tom Hanks comedy "The Money Pit."

In accommodating its construction-nightmare premise, the film practically abandons the family angle. Long's character, who showed verve as a working single mom in the first film, comes off here as alternately unsupportive and clueless.

Suzanne seems fine, for instance, with having to track down Nick at a bar to show him a sonogram photo. Given that he works at home on his own magazine, Nick could have found the time to accompany his wife to the doctor's office.

The kids barely factor into the story once the family makes its move. Nick is too consumed with noise being made by construction crews to bond with Kevin, and the now-teenage Lindsey spends her time on the phone with friends back in the city.

Though gorgeous on the surface, the family's huge, late-19th-century home shows signs of big trouble from Day One. After Nick fails in an attempt to do his own repairs, he calls Chuck Mitchell (John C. McGinley), the local real estate guy, contractor and midwife.

This ethically dubious Chuck-of-all-trades vexes Nick to no end. Yet their relationship is the only one in the film with even a hint of arc.

McGinley, from NBC's "Scrubs," is a stalwart comic actor who never makes a false move onscreen. Unfortunately, his fine work is wasted in films such as this one and "Wild Hogs."

Though this is ostensibly a family film, it's hard to imagine kids being fascinated by all the construction talk. Even the charismatic Tahj Mowry, as a local boy who makes the suburbs look a little brighter to Lindsey, can't offset a subplot about dry rot.

Playing a character who is often frustrated or stressed out keeps Cube in dour mode for most of the picture. But he's winning in a scene in which Nick discovers, upon first touring the house, that the bathroom contains a private toilet stall.

As Nick imagines the possibilities, Ice Cube's face lights up in wonder. In most films, a bathroom-related joke would represent the lowest form of humor. In this one, it's a highlight.

*1/2 out of four stars.

Rated PG.

  Comments  

Videos

Watch to learn more about $14 furry friends

Former President Carter, wife Rosalynn smooch on ‘Kiss Cam’

View More Video

Trending Stories

Columbus jury reaches verdict in birthday party shootout trial involving half-brothers

February 18, 2019 04:22 PM

1 state champion. 2 third-place finishers. These Columbus area wrestlers made history.

February 18, 2019 08:00 PM

Spotted Saturday at the Junior League of Columbus’ Character Breakfast

February 18, 2019 08:09 AM

9 Columbus area teams left in Georgia, Alabama high school basketball state playoffs

February 18, 2019 03:46 PM

Columbus jury reaches verdict in fatal shooting involving half-brothers

February 18, 2019 05:14 PM

Read Next

How Lady Bulldogs discovered the importance of limiting turnovers in rout of Ole Miss

Bulldogs Blog

How Lady Bulldogs discovered the importance of limiting turnovers in rout of Ole Miss

By Brandon Sudge

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 18, 2019 11:54 PM

The Lady Bulldogs won over Ole Miss Monday night 78-56. Georgia played clean, producing only nine turnovers and two miscues in the first half. There are 4 regular-season games remaining until the SEC tournament.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Ledger-Enquirer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

1 state champion. 2 third-place finishers. These Columbus area wrestlers made history.

High School Sports

1 state champion. 2 third-place finishers. These Columbus area wrestlers made history.

February 18, 2019 08:00 PM
Columbus jury reaches verdict in birthday party shootout trial involving half-brothers

Latest News

Columbus jury reaches verdict in birthday party shootout trial involving half-brothers

February 18, 2019 04:22 PM
9 Columbus area teams left in Georgia, Alabama high school basketball state playoffs

High School Sports

9 Columbus area teams left in Georgia, Alabama high school basketball state playoffs

February 18, 2019 03:46 PM
The last flight: Saying farewell to longtime reader, Navy air veteran Wales Whitt

Latest News

The last flight: Saying farewell to longtime reader, Navy air veteran Wales Whitt

February 17, 2019 04:46 PM
Some Georgia lawmakers say it’s time for cultivation of medical marijuana in the state

Georgia

Some Georgia lawmakers say it’s time for cultivation of medical marijuana in the state

February 17, 2019 03:09 PM
After 11 years and $1.5 million, there is no hope for Water Witch at Naval Museum

Latest News

After 11 years and $1.5 million, there is no hope for Water Witch at Naval Museum

February 17, 2019 03:23 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
Advertising
  • Digital Solutions
  • Niche Solutions
  • Print Solutions
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story