Are We Done Yet?

A sequel to Are We There Yet? (and a credited remake of the 1948 Cary Grant vehicle, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House), this innocuous Ice Cube vehicle rehashes and repackages 60-year-old gags for family consumption. Having finally married his long-suffering fiancée (Nia Long)—becoming a stepfather to her children (Aleisha Allen, Philip Bolden)—entrepreneurial-minded Nick Persons (Ice Cube) decides to give them all a fresh start by moving to the country, where he uses seed money from his latest project to finance the repairs to their new home, a fixer-upper with more problems than initially meet the eye. As the house begins to fall apart, the same thing happens to Nick's marriage, and his frustrations with an overbearing contractor (John C. McGinley) merely exacerbate an already tense situation. Rapper and erstwhile bad boy Ice Cube has become a credible Everyman character with a keen sense of comic timing, but unfortunately, he's saddled with the outrageously overacting McGinley as a foil, and the constant scenery chewing results in comedy so broad that only kids are likely to enjoy it. In fact, barring a few tasteless examples of potty humor (nothing kids couldn't see on TV), Are We Done Yet? is reasonably harmless family entertainment. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include a nine-minute “Film Quiz” segment, a seven-minute “KIDding Around on Set” making-of featurette, “Chuck Mitchell, Jr.: Jack of All Trades” on costar John C. McGinley's character (5 min.), a three-minute blooper reel, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a so-so film.] (E. Hulse)