
Wake Me When You're Done Yet !!!!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Ransacking film library for Classics to Ruin, er, Remake; the creatively-impaired team liable for "Are We Done Yet?" has turned the vintage Cary Grant charmer, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" (1948), into a lame vehicle-for Ice Cube?!
With all due respect to the charismatic rapper/actor, he's not the first, or even the hundredth name that comes to mind when finding a contemporary equivalent to the effortlessly debonair Mr. Grant. Then again, "Are We Done Yet?'s" Director Steve Carr ("Daddy Day Care") and Screenwriter Hank Nelken ("Saving Silverman") haven't so much updated "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" as demolished it with this witless and completely unwarranted sequel to the dire "Are We There Yet?".
Picking up from the last film, "Are We Done Yet?" finds Nick Persons (Cube) married to Suzanne (Nia Long, wasted in a thankless role) and thrust into the role of stepfather to bratty adolescents Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) and Kevin (Philip Bolden). Barely able to turn around without colliding in Nick's Portland condo, the Persons brood, plus slobbering dog Coco, decamps to the country, where Nick impulsively buys a huge, neo-Victorian house to accommodate his growing family (Suzanne is expecting twins).
As if adjusting to life in the 'Burbs isn't challenging enough; what with pesky wildlife, wacky neighbors bearing welcome gifts of sturgeon, and the constant, manic presence of local realtor/contractor/"baby whisperer" and all-purpose nuisance Chuck Mitchell (John C. McGinley), Nick quickly discovers that his new home is a seemingly bottomless money pit. (Note: Taking Remake Pages from "The Money Pit" (Tom Hanks)).
The constant strain of balancing family, home repairs, and career (Nick's launching a sports magazine) nearly sends Nick off the proverbial end, but after numerous, ineptly staged gags and sappy moments, both the house and the family's happiness are eventually restored.
There's not a single whiff of freshness in "Are We Done Yet?", which goes for the very lowest common denominator in terms of laughs — and still misses that broad mark 99¾ percent of its seemingly interminable running time. A couple of the slapstick comedy sequences elicit a mild chuckle, but watching Ice Cube wrestle a rubber fish or run from a crazed, CGI-enhanced faun will more likely inspire a pained grimace, instead of a smile.
It's dispiriting to see Ice Cube, (who's shown himself to be an exceptional dramatic actor in "Three Kings", "Anaconda" and "Dangerous Ground", as well as an enjoyably humorous and compassionate presence in "BarberShop"), take the role of the well-meaning, disaster-prone buffoon in "Are We Done Yet?".
This film, unfortunately, reeks over needlessness and screams apologies.
"Are We Done Yet?"
It's more like "Wake Me When It's Over".
Review ID: 10000000004043743

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