Are We There Yet? (film): Difference between revisions

Are We There Yet?
Directed by	Brian Levant
Screenplay by	Steven Gary Banks Claudia Grazioso J. David Stem David N. Weiss
Story by	Steven Gary Banks Claudia Grazioso
Produced by	Ice Cube Matt Alvarez Dan Kolsrud
Starring	Ice Cube Nia Long Jay Mohr Tracy Morgan
Cinematography	Thomas Ackerman
Edited by	Lawrence Jordan
Music by	David Newman
Production companies	Revolution Studios Cube Vision
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	January 21, 2005 (2005-01-21)
Running time	95 minutes
Countries	United States Canada
Language	English
Budget	$32 million
Box office	$97,918,663

Are We There Yet? is a 2005 American family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and starring Ice Cube. It was produced by Revolution Studios and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Although it was panned by critics, it grossed $82 million in North America alone and sold 3.7 million DVDs.

The film, while set in Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, British Columbia and other parts of the Pacific Northwest, was mostly shot on location in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, including a view of the Lions' Gate Bridge, the Financial District skyscrapers and the downtown scene near the film's conclusion. A sequel, Are We Done Yet?, was released in 2007, and a television series based around the film's main characters premiered in 2010.

Plot

Nick Persons (Ice Cube), a 37-year-old bachelor, takes a car drive on New Year's Eve to Vancouver from Portland, Oregon to transfer two bratty children, Lindsey and Kevin Kingston (Aleisha Allen and Philip Daniel Bolden), to their divorced mother, Suzanne Kingston (Nia Long), on whom Nick has a crush.

The road trip seems to be a disaster from the outset, as the three face numerous mishaps. One example includes the children signaling to truck driver Al Buck (M. C. Gainey) that they have been kidnapped by Nick. They are run off the road by him. After Lindsey and Kevin discover their father's betrayal, they warm up to Nick, as he does with them, when he tells them that he, too, was abandoned by his father.

Nick and the kids try to hitch a ride from Al Buck, but he leaves Nick behind and drives off, leading to a chase that ends when Nick fights Al, along with several men dressed as snowmen. During the fight, Kevin suddenly gets an asthma attack and Nick rushes to him with the inhaler and is able to revive him. The three eventually arrive at Vancouver. With the consent of the children, Nick and Suzanne are officially dating by the end of the movie.

Cast

• Ice Cube as Nicholas "Nick" Persons, a smooth-talking, child-hating bachelor
• Nia Long as Suzanne Kingston, an attractive, divorced woman and single mother
• Aleisha Allen as Lindsey Kingston, Suzanne's bratty and antagonistic daughter.
• Philip Daniel Bolden as Kevin Kingston, Suzanne's asthmatic son.
• Jay Mohr as Marty, Nick's best friend.
• M. C. Gainey as Al Buck (known as "Big Al"), a truck driver
• Tracy Morgan as Satchel Page Bobblehead (voice)
  • David Barclay as Satchel Page Bobblehead (puppeteer)
• C. Ernst Harth as Ernst, a truck driver who helps Nick save the kids from Big Al.
• Nichelle Nichols as Miss Mable, Kevin and Lindsey's babysitter.
• Sean Millington as Frank Kingston, Kevin and Lindsey's father who was divorced.
• Henry Simmons as Carl, Suzanne's date

Production

Are We There Yet? was filmed in Campbell River, British Columbia, the Vancouver International Airport (disguised as Portland International Airport), and Portland. Most of the film was shot in Vancouver. The highway by the shoreline on the way to Whistler Mountain is the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The suspension bridge is actually the Lions Gate Bridge, above Stanley Park, and they drive over one of the many bridges that connect downtown with the southern part of the city. The scene at the truck stop and the restaurant (actually called Galileo Coffee) after the kids saw their father in the window was filmed in Britannia Beach. The chase at the end where the truck chase was filmed on the Cambie Street Bridge and Dunsmuir St. between Howe and Burrard Station.

The train featured in the movie is Via Rail. In reality, Via Rail travels only in Canada. The Amtrak route is the Amtrak Cascades which goes through Seattle. The Pacific Central Station in Vancouver is a local landmark.

Reception

The film was almost universally panned by critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 11% based on 114 reviews (13 fresh, 101 rotten) with an average rating of 3.3/10. Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 27% based on 28 reviews.

Box office

The film opened at #1 with a gross of $18,575,214 in 2,709 theaters averaging $6,856 per venue. The film's opening weekend made up 22.57% of its final domestic gross. In its second weekend, the film dropped to #2 but lost just 12% of its audience, grossing a further $16,346,395, and raised the 10 day total to $38,458,267. It closed on June 16, 2005, with a final gross of $97,918,663 worldwide ($82,674,398 in North America and $15,244,265 internationally).

Awards and nominations

• BMI Music Film Award
• 2006 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie (nominated, lost to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

Television series

Main article: Are We There Yet? (TV series)

In 2010, Are We There Yet? premiered on TBS. The show's executive producer and creator is Ice Cube, who created and starred in the film adaption. All of the roles from the film series are recast. Terry Crews, who previously worked with Cube in Friday After Next and Lottery Ticket, takes over the role of Nick and Essence Atkins, who was in Dance Flick and Smart Guy, takes over Nia Long's role as Suzanne. The only actor from the movie series to return for the TV show is Ice Cube, who stars in a recurring role as Suzanne's brother Terrence.

External links

• Are We There Yet? at IMDb
• Are We There Yet? at Box Office Mojo