Better living through comedy sequel - Comedy - Movies by genres

'Mr. Blandings' basis for new flick

April 4, 2007
When we left Nick Persons (Ice Cube) in 2005's "Are We There Yet?," he was trying in vain to keep a couple of precocious kids from throwing up inside his Escalade.

In the sequel out today, "Are We Done Yet?," his responsibilities have multiplied.
Not only has he married the kids' mother, Suzanne (Nia Long), but he has twins on the way.

Cramped in his bachelor apartment, he decides to purchase a dream house that -- you guessed it -- turns into a money pit.
Loosely based on the 1948 Cary Grant vehicle, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," the new movie is good-natured and sometimes funny.

It also doesn't make a lick of sense.
A huge leap of faith is required simply to understand how Nick, who ran a sports memorabilia store in the first movie, has the million-dollar clout to launch a glossy sports magazine.
When the home's wiring short-circuits, Nick calls a contractor, only to discover that this is the same man, Chuck (John C.

McGinley), who sold him the house. Chuck also shows up as a building inspector before orchestrating a complete overhaul of the house.
McGinley, from TV's "Scrubs," steals the film, wowing the family with his past exploits as a professional basketball player and race walker.

Since he's also a trained midwife, Chuck provides much-needed comfort for the pregnant Suzanne.
Ice Cube, in contrast, lumbers through the movie, trying desperately to pound out interview questions while suffering the indignities of dry rot and a trash-talking raccoon.
To their credit, director Steve Carr ("Rebound," "Daddy Day Care") and screenwriter Hank Nelken steer clear of the puke-and-pee jokes that highlighted the first film.

Instead they focus on comic pratfalls as Nick wrestles with a monster sturgeon during an ill-fated fishing trip.
At just more than 90 minutes, "Are We Done Yet?" is well paced and easy to watch.

And while Ice Cube is no Cary Grant, McGinley's Chuck is the closest thing you'll find to a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon.

Keywords: Ice Cube, Are We, Are We Done, Done Yet, We Done, Dream House, Cary Grant, We Done Yet

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