The farce of home remodeling, Cubed

BY SAM ADAMS | Los Angeles Times

April 4, 2007

Few experiences edge closer to the absurdity of farce than the process of remodeling a home. But excruciating as it is in real life, the comedy of contracting is a dicey proposition on screen as well. It's hard to milk laughs from a couple fearing their future is ebbing away one inflated estimate at a time.

In "Are We Done Yet?" Nick Persons (Ice Cube) is chasing two dreams at once: launching a magazine and acquiring the perfect country home. Three if you count the family - wife Suzanne (Nia Long), stepchildren Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) and Kevin (Philip Bolden) - he intends to house in it. Although it reuses the cast of characters from 2005's "Are We There Yet?" "Are We Done Yet?" is far less grating than its ostensible prequel.

Intent on proving his masculine decisiveness, Nick snaps up the sprawling manse from a beguiling realtor (a frisky John C. McGinley) without waiting for a home inspection. And that, as they say, is where his troubles begin. The wood floors have termites, the antique wall sconces have wiring to match, and the local vermin see no reason to relocate.

Making matters worse, the realtor's favorite general contractor turns out to be himself - and, this being a small town, he also serves as city inspector, issuing hefty fines for substandard work. Despite a likable, but limited screen presence, the best Ice Cube can do is open his mouth and blink a lot.

Although Ice Cube is still happy to haul out his old snarl when it serves his purposes, he's clearly trying to reinvent himself as a family entertainer. But the milder he gets, the less confident he seems. What's a reformed gangsta rapper to do?