Ice Cube and Nia Long star in romantic comedy movie: 'Are We There Yet?

Jet, Jan 24, 2005

Ice Cube gets a chance to show his unique comic skills when he teams up with Nia Long in the romantic comedy Are We There Yet?

In the film, the rapper-turned-actor plays Nick, a smooth operator who's determined to date Suzanne (Nia Long), a young, attractive divorcee.

Nick's big problem is that the object of his affection is stuck working in Vancouver, Canada, and lonely for her children.

Being the slickster that he thinks he is, Nick offers to help Suzanne out by bringing her seven-year-old son Kevin (Philip Daniel Bolden) and 11-year-old daughter Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) up from Portland, Oregon, to be reunited with their morn.

Nick doesn't like or understand children. And that's where his problems and the comedy lies. He's clueless that Suzanne's children don't think that any man is good enough for their mother. The young duo is determined to do any and everything they can to make the 300-mile trip to Vancouver a nightmare for Nick. The trip forces Nick to re-evaluate himself and the way he relates to children.

Ice Cube, who also produced the film, told JET: "Not only was it a good script, but for me it was a natural progression. My company Cube Vision did the Friday movies which were rated 'R.' We did the Barbershop movies which were 'PG-13.' It was only right at this time in my career to kind of test the boundaries and give a crack at a 'PG' movie, a movie the whole family could see. A lot of kids liked the Friday and Barbershop movies and those movies aren't necessarily geared for them. Here's a movie the whole family can enjoy without covering the ears or eyes and all that stuff."

In his previous comedies, Cube has been the straight man surrounded by comic actors and humorous situations. Not this time. Now, he's playing the comic role.

"I've always played the straight men in most of the comedies I've been a part of," he said. "Here's a movie where I was taking the nice brunt of the comedy. So, I wanted to not try to be funny like a comedian, but be in funny situations, situations that make us all laugh. I'm just showing my range. That's what acting is all about, giving your emotions to a character. The reason it's funny here is because my character, Nick, is trying to be slick. He's trying to pretend he's cool with kids so the mother will like him. He has a line in the movie that says: 'if the kids hate you, the mother won't date you.' He's trying to be slick and that makes it funnier."

Director Brian Levant agreed that Ice Cube playing such a comic role is a surprise for audiences.

"You don't expect to see Ice Cube in a family comedy," he said. "It's a bit of a surprise to see Ice Cube trying to cope with the headaches presented by a seven-year-old and an 11-year-old. It's something we've never seen him do before, being a nurturer and tapping into his paternal instincts. I was thrilled to have the chance to work with him in this capacity and my enthusiasm was more than justified. He was a natural for the role. He opened us up to a facet of his personality that's only been touched on before--his natural grace, warmth and humanity."

The comedy in the movie also involves a Lincoln Navigator that takes a major bruising on that long trip from Portland.

It's also a physical comedy for Ice Cube. Nick gets thrown from a train and a horse. He even has to jump on moving cars.

Some of the major laughs come from seeing Ice Cube's character chasing a moving train while riding a horse.

"That's one of my favorite scenes in the movie 'cause nobody would expect, you know, Cube on a horse," he said.

For the love interest, Ice Cube recommended longtime friend Nia Long. The two did Friday and Boyz N The Hood together.

"What I like about Nia is that she can play any kind of woman," Cube explained. "She always brings her 'A' game no matter how big or small the part is. She works at being perfect as a mother to these two kids."

Long said she admires her friend Cube's uncanny ability to "make a fool of himself but still seem like a cool guy."

The movie also features Nichelle Nichols as Miss Mable, the kids' babysitter.

Levant said of Nichols: "It was great to work with her again." He previously worked with her on Snow Dogs. Nichols is best-known as Lt. Uhura from "Star Trek."

"She came in for a couple of days and just stole the show," Levant said. "The whole crew beamed when Nichelle was around." The film also features comedian Jay Mohr as Marty, Nick's co-worker and friend.

Marty Alvarez, who also served as producer, recalled having seen Cube on Mohr's 1999 ESPN show "Mohr Sports." "And we said, 'We want it just like that--like, just two guys hanging out," Alvarez recalled.

Mohr said his character isn't "the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but he's got a good heart."

Ice Cube said it was great getting the opportunity to show yet another side of Black life.

"This is a $50 million PG movie with a Black cast." He pointed out that even though Hollywood hasn't often shown middle class Blacks in comic situations, "for a lot of us, it is reality," he explained.