Are We There Yet? (2005)

Director:

Brian Levant

Writers (WGA):

Steven Gary Banks (story) &
Claudia Grazioso (story) ...

Release Date:

21 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

Tagline:

24 hours. 350 miles. His girlfriend's kids. What could possibly go wrong?

Plot:

The fledgling romance between Nick, a playboy bachelor, and Suzanne, a divorced mother of two, is threatened...

Plot Keywords:

Jumping A Train | Cockroach | Family Relationships | Thirty Something | Divorcee

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Ice Cube	...	Nick Persons
Nia Long	...	Suzanne Kingston
Aleisha Allen	...	Lindsey Kingston
Philip Bolden	...	Kevin Kingston (as Philip Daniel Bolden)
Jay Mohr	...	Marty
M.C. Gainey	...	Al
Tracy Morgan	...	Satchel Paige (voice)
Henry Simmons	...	Carl
Ray Galletti	...	Car Dealer
Viv Leacock	...	Nick's Pal on the Street
Casey Dubois	...	Shoplifter
J.B. McEown	...	Shoplifter (as JB McEown)
Kenyan Lewis	...	Basketball Player
Daniel Cudmore	...	Basketball Player
Timothy Paul Perez	...	Basketball Player

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and rude humor.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Philippines:G | Brazil:10 (DVD rating) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Australia:PG | Germany:6 | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #40131) | Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:MG6

Filming Locations:

Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

The game Kevin is playing in the car is Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002) (VG), for the Nintendo Gamecube.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Nick discovers that the kids are off the train and it starts to move, he runs almost the entire length on the train yelling at them. When the camera shows the kids from the front you can see that the train tracks start about 30 feet behind them, not enough room for the entire train.

Quotes:

Nick Persons: [wanting new tires] Look, I'll pay you extra. See? Yao Ming! Rookie card.
Car Mechanic: Oh, I see. You think because I am Chinese that you can get me to do anythi - OOOO! Hologram!

Movie Connections:

References "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Theme From Shaft

Are we DONE yet?

Long distance driving, constant headaches, groaning and claustrophobia. Then, that tedious question arises...Are we there yet? But in the new flick, Are we there yet?, that question takes a new meaning.

Through a series of worst-case scenarios from deer attacks to a train race on horseback, Nick Persons (Ice Cube, Barbershop) experiences it all.

Beginning a timid romance between Persons and Suzanne Kingston (Nia Long, Boiler Room), possible babysitters for her children while she's away becomes few and far between, leaving Persons, a child-hater as the only viable option. He must transport Kingston's two "angelic" children 350 miles from Oregon to Vancouver. They attempt to make it in 24 hours by plane, train and automobile.

Directed by Brian Levant, director of Snow Dogs (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and Jingle All The Way (Arnold Schwarzenegger), he defines his love for making family-fun movies.

For what it was worth, the acting was decent. Ice Cube played a better role than I expected. Aleisha Allen (School of Rock) and Philip Bolden (Johnson Family Vacation) were well-cast. And the cherry on top of the acting was Jay Mohr (Pay It Forward, Jerry Maguire). The way the actors worked together accented the movie.

Cinematography in this movie was exactly what I expected. There were a few intriguing camera angles, better than I've seen from directors of Levant's credibility.

The rating was well chosen as PG. There was minor language and rude humor.

Noticing half of the theater filled with children ranging from five to twelve, and tons of parents, I'd definitely suggest staying away from this movie on a date. There were periodic jokes and entertaining scenes, but if you don't like "kiddy" movies, I would not encourage this.