ARE WE THERE YET?
A bumpy family comedy best saved for home.
Should You Watch It?
ARE WE THERE YET? begins with a funny setup and plenty of possibilities. Ice Cube’s Nick tries to win over Suzanne, an attractive divorced mother, by helping with her children during a trip to Vancouver. The movie’s moral point is worthwhile: adults and children must treat one another responsibly, with kindness and gentleness.
The trouble is that the comedy repeatedly gets sidetracked. Nick’s hatred of children and swagger toward women weaken the family appeal, while the children’s pranks can be dangerously mean. A lust-minded babysitter and several crude moments further muddy the film’s message. Nick eventually bonds with the children, but that change does not always play smoothly.
You can find some entertainment here, but your family will likely get a better experience watching this one at home, where you can guide the conversation and decide who is ready.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESNick Persons is a retired baseball player and sports collectible store owner in Portland, Oregon. He hopes to date Suzanne Kingston, a divorced mother with two children, Kevin and Lindsey.
When Suzanne’s work takes her to Vancouver during New Year’s Eve, Nick offers to fly with the children so they can be with her. But Kevin and Lindsey do not believe any man is good enough for their mother, and they set out to make the journey as difficult as possible.
Is It Any Good?
Two stars means this comedy has a promising beginning but struggles to make good on it. The first scene is funny, and the setup creates several possibilities for an entertaining family adventure.
The movie loses its way through Nick’s negative attitude toward children, his masculine swagger toward women, and the children’s excessively mean and risky behavior. The relationship between Nick and the children eventually changes, but the transition does not always play smoothly. More bad things happen just when they seem to be getting along, sending Nick back into angry outbursts.
The Worldview
The film’s central moral is that children and adults should act responsibly toward one another and toward the mother at the center of the story. It ultimately values kindness, gentleness, responsibility and love, as Nick learns to move beyond conflict and trouble.
But the movie also presents a protagonist who hates children and thinks of himself as a playboy bachelor. The children respond to their mother’s dates with revenge, and some of their pranks put them in real danger. The film’s moral direction is further blurred by suggestive behavior and the contrast between an elderly babysitter’s Christian church group and her offer to take Nick to “Sin City.”
The film’s call to kindness aligns with Scripture: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Moral worldview about the need for children and young men to act responsibly, with some pagan content where protagonist (who hates children) thinks of himself as a playboy bachelor but must learn to act more responsibly and mean children take revenge on divorced mother’s dates because they want their father to return, and one scene refers to elderly woman’s Christian church group but another scene shows the same elderly woman offering to take younger protagonist to “Sin City”; five light obscenities, one light profanity, man appears to be saying more bad words but his voice cannot be heard by audience but Amish father and son hear it, boy accidentally urinates on woman, elderly woman passes gas, boy vomits, and talk about boy having to go to the restroom; moderate comical violence includes man hit with food products and some kind of liquid, groin kick, object hits man in groin, SUV rolls down large incline in the woods, deer fights man and man fights back, deer and man wrestle, horse throws man, gang of kids knock man down, man on horse chases train, men wrestle, truck dries to stop SUV on highway, and trucks chase one another; no sex scenes but protagonist leers at woman’s cleavage and rear end and brief talk about protagonist being a smooth operator with women; no nudity, but female cleavage; no alcohol; no smoking; and, protagonist says he hates children, children act like brats, children pull pranks (some of which are dangerous), children treat man’s property badly, and divorced father neglects his other children for his new family.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film says children and adults must treat each other responsibly. What does responsibility look like when you are frustrated with someone in your family?
Galatians 5:22–23 · Ephesians 4:32Some of the children’s pranks are dangerous. Why can something intended as a joke still be wrong?
Proverbs 14:16 · Philippians 2:3–4Nick begins with a negative attitude toward children and must learn kindness and gentleness. Who helps you practice those qualities?
Colossians 3:12–14 · James 1:19The film presents a divorced family dealing with hurt and divided loyalties. How can children honor their parents while responding honestly to family difficulties?
Exodus 20:12 · Ephesians 6:1–4The Final Word
ARE WE THERE YET? has a funny setup and a worthwhile message about responsibility, kindness and gentleness. But dangerous pranks, crude humor and suggestive behavior make it uneven family entertainment. WAIT FOR HOME so parents can guide the experience. For gentler alternatives, see.
