Are We Done Yet?

Directed by Steve Carr, Are We Done Yet? follows Ice Cube’s Nick Persons as he and his new family (Nia Long’s Suzanne, Aleisha Allen’s Lindsey, and Philip Bolden’s Kevin) buy and attempt to renovate an old country home. Filmmaker Carr, armed with a script by Hank Nelken, delivers a sequel that ultimately falls right in line with its periodically passable yet mostly middling predecessor, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that the movie is at its best within an affable, easygoing first half suffused with funny digressions and charming performances – with, in terms of the latter, Cube’s agreeable work going a long way towards anchoring the proceedings through its less-than-captivating stretches. (It’s clear, however, that John C. McGinley’s scene-stealing turn as Nick’s frenetic contractor remains an ongoing highlight within the narrative.) The picture’s overall impact, then, is significantly diminished by an underwhelming and overly sentimental third act, as Carr subjects Cube and Long’s respective characters to as needless and unnecessary a fake breakup as one can easily recall – which, perhaps predictably, ensures that the feel-good finale is hardly as satisfying as one might’ve hoped. The end result is a disappointing followup that generally does feel like it could (and should) be better, and it goes without saying that the movie strains to sustain one’s interest for the duration of a brief-but-not-brief enough 92 minute running time.

** out of ****