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A few laughs make this mostly cliché film worth seeing

A few laughs make this mostly cliché film worth seeing
by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid - SGN A&E Writer Are We Done Yet? Directed by Steve Carr Starring Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C. McGinley, Aleisha Allen, Phillip Daniel Bolden Opened April 4th One truth I've come to see in Hollywood these days is the formula that if a film is successful, do a sequel. And the original film doesn't even have to be more than mildly successful, but somehow the execs making the decisions think that's a good reason to use the same actors, not vary the script too much, and pretty much stick to the same, tired premise. Unfortunately, that's the biggest problem I had with the new Ice Cube comedy, Are We Done Yet?. The film just feels so 'by the book', it's hard to get beyond the idea that the writers didn't try very hard to recreate what are actually pretty interesting characters. Ice Cube is back in his role from Are We There Yet, this time as a step-dad to the two children from the original film (Aleisha Allen and Phillip Daniel Bolden), and he and Nia Long are now married. The family is experiencing growing pains in Nick's (Ice Cube) tiny apartment so they decide to move to 'the country' (which looks like Portland, but was actually filmed in Vancouver, according to the credits) and buy a house, which turns out to be a 'fixer upper' with more problems than they bargained for. And yes, there are similarities to a much funnier (and better written) earlier film that I love, The Money Pit, but Are We Done Yet, tries a little too hard, and even with the running problem house jokes, and 'nutty contractor' (John C. McGinley) jokes, the film drags at times. I found myself wanting to like this film, and at times, honestly being entertained by it, but by the time it was over, there was that feeling of having had ice cream for dinner. You are full, but know you need a nourishing meal anyway. I'd wait for the video, if I were you.