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Are We There Yet?
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION |
| This
page was created on January 19, 2005
This page was last updated on
January 20, 2005
—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections |
| ABOUT
THIS FILM |
At
its core, Are We There Yet? is the story of a man who is prepared
to do anything to get closer to a woman. Despite the fact that he
really doesn’t like kids, he agrees to endure a 300-mile road
trip with them, a move that comically backfires. Instead of using
the children as pawns in the pursuit of his goal, he ends up falling
in love with them.
Producer Matt Alvarez immediately responded to this script and to
its "natural and universal themes: “A playboy bachelor
who finds himself unexpectedly changed into a different kind of man,
two kids who are fighting to keep their estranged parents together
and a mom who puts her children first,” he says.
Alvarez was also impressed by the comedic opportunities the story
presented and how ripe a role Nick was for the right actor -- who
proved to be Ice Cube. “"It’s written as kind of
a mainstream family comedy and by casting Cube as Nick, you’re
actually flipping the genre a bit, giving it an edge. It’s still
a great family comedy, just not your everyday run-of-the-mill family
comedy."
"That’s because you don't expect to see Ice Cube in a family
comedy,” interjects director Brian Levant. “It’s
a bit of a surprise to see Ice Cube trying to cope with the headaches
presented by an 8 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 in 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.”
Beyond the astute casting of Ice Cube, the storyline for Are We There
Yet? offered Levant, "Wonderful potential for a large-scale visual
comedy using the structure of a road trip, and more importantly, giant
comic opportunities for major destruction!” he laughs. “In
the movie we do battle with deer, crash cars and set them on fire
-- in fact, we do every kind of damage you could possibly do to a
vehicle and its inhabitants throughout the course of the film. “Fun!”
Over the course of the story, a once pristine Lincoln Navigator takes
a licking as does Nick’s once orderly life. “It’s
a deceptively simple formula,” Levant continues. “You
take a man who has absolutely no experience with children and you
expose him to the worst aspects of parenthood in a very concentrated
period of time. In the span of the 90 minutes during which we’re
on the road, Nick is confronted with virtually every horror a parent
must endure.”
As Nick’s shiny wheels hit the skids, so too does his bachelor
perspective on the world. And, says Alvarez, that’s a good thing.
"Nick’s life is turned upside down by these children. But
through this process, he starts to understand kids and the meaning
of family. He begins to relate to these kids, which eventually furthers
his relationship with their mother.”
This is a side of Ice Cube his fans haven’t seen before, according
to Alvarez. “For the actor, the lead role in a family road comedy
genre was a refreshing departure. "A big part of entertaining
people is the element of surprise, giving something other than what
they expect,” he observes. “So when this came along, I
immediately went for it. Nick is a wonderful character and the situations
he’s confronted with are hilarious – and sometimes touching.”
It took a certain amount of courage to tackle the role of Nick,”
says Levant. "I mean, in the movie he gets thrown from a train
and a horse. We drop a giant ax down on his crotch. He has to jump
on moving cars, get thrown this way and that. Every day we did something
to humiliate the man and he just kept coming back for more."
Ice Cube was aware of the physical demands of the role and took it
all in stride. "Doing all these little crazy things, getting
vomited on and all that stuff, man, it was all part of the fun,”
he says with a straight face. “I would hate to be too cool to
make the movie good. I had no problem with being the butt of a joke
or two."
Some of the humor derives from seeing Ice Cube in improbable situations,
like 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," says the actor.
Ice Cube’sblithe attitude toward the sometimes hair-raising
situations in which he finds himself in Are We There Yet? is at least
partially attributable to his trust in his director. Both Alvarez
and Ice Cube felt strongly about Levant directing the film because
of his past experience with family-style material. “We definitely
wanted someone who was a pro in this particular genre,” says
Alvarez, “someone we could go to and say 'Hey, does this work
for the family audience?' And at the same time, he was able to incorporate
some elements that would appeal to Cube’s core audience. So
there was this great give-and-take throughout the entire process.”
For his part, Levant is delighted to be working with Ice Cube. "Ice
Cube has a wonderful ‘everyman’ quality, in the same sense
as a Tom Hanks or a Jimmy Stewart are thought of as everyday people
that we can relate to because we see some of ourselves in them,”
says Levant. “And like all true movie stars he gives off these
incredible energy on screen. It’s palpable.”
Levant also admired the determination with which Ice Cube approached
the physical demands of the role, working as hard at the technique
of the stunts as he did at infusing them with humor. “This guy
is a true athlete and we put this to good use because we made him
run and run and jump and take falls. And he just kept coming back
for more.”
Ice Cube brought to bear his considerable expertise as a one-man-band
of entertainment. "Cube isn’t just an actor and a musical
performer. He’s also a writer and a director. And he brought
facets of those skills to his acting too. He was always helping out,
finding more jokes, getting more out of the material. He was constantly
surprising us with interesting takes, asides and improvisations. It
made my job so much easier."
Levant even credits the actor with the idea to cast Nia Long as the
film’s leading lady. “It was Ice Cube who first suggested
her,” says Levant. “And when they started performing together
I completely understood why. They have this natural chemistry.”
Those fireworks dates back to the first film they appeared in together,
Boyz ‘N the Hood.
The intervening years haven’t changed the comfort the two actors
have in each other’s presence. "First off, Nia is a hell
of an actress,” says Ice Cube of his co-star. “That was
obvious the first time we worked together and so was our rapport.
She’s cool people and so right to play a working mother.”
Long returns the compliment, admiring Ice Cube’s ability to
“make a fool of himself but still seem like a cool guy."
The two child actors with whom Ice Cube spends most of his screen
time were thrilled to be working with him. Aleisha Allen, who plays
Lindsey Kingston, describes him as “awesome." Phillip Daniel
Bolden, who plays Kevin Kingston says “Yeah he is awesome and
very nice too.”
"Besides being adorable,” says Ice Cube of his co-stars,
“everything they did was kind of special. some people just have
‘it,’ and these two kids -- they got ‘it.’”
Aleisha and Phillip were cast after a major talent search. "Our
casting directors threw out a nationwide net to find the best talent,”
says Levant. “When we saw Aleisha on video the first time, we
thought, ‘that’s her.’ Then, when we saw her in
school of Rock, we knew we’d made the right decision.”
"Phillip really shone in his auditions,” Levant continues.
“He showed us that, even though he was just eight years old,
he already had a serious side to him. I really enjoyed working with
both Phillip and Aleisha because they were so receptive and patient.
And it was gratifying to watch their relationship with Cube blossom,
both on-screen and off. You could tell Cube was really fond of them,
which comes across in the movie. The audience will definitely sense
it.”
Jay Mohr was cast as Nick’s co-worker and friend, Marty, after
Alvarez and Levant watched tapes of an exchange between him and Ice
Cube on Jay’s1999 ESPN series --Mohr sports.-- "And we
said, 'We want it just like that ‘ like, just two guys hanging
out,'" Alvarez recalls.
Mohr describes his character, Marty, as someone who isn't necessarily
"the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but he’s got
a good heart." Levant was enthusiastic about casting Mohr in
this kind of change of pace role. “Jay is such a treat because
he has such remarkable comic timing. This role’s a little out
of the ordinary for him. We’re used to seeing him in a suit
and tie on ‘The West Wing,’ and here he’s got to
wear a t-shirt and just be the goofy guy behind the counter."
Another quirky, successful bit of casting luck occurred when the production
team snagged veteran actress Nichelle Nichols’ best known as
Lt. Cmdr. Uhura on the original ‘Star Trek’ series --
for the role of Miss Mable, the kids’ babysitter. Levant had
most recently worked with Nichols in the hit comedy snow Dogs. He
explains, “It was great to work with her again. She came in
for a couple of days and just stole the show. The whole crew beamed
when Nichelle was around.”
In addition to a compelling cast of human actors, Are We There Yet?
utilizes inanimate objects for comic effect as well. Throughout the
course of the movie, Nick’s prized Lincoln Navigator and a bobble-head
on the car dashboard take on some decidedly anthropomorphic characteristics.
The bobble-head idea grew out of the nature of Nick’s business.
"I was intrigued by the fact that Nick owned a fine sports collectible
store,” says Levant. “It raised a lot of possibilities
for us visually. His profession gave us a vehicle to explore the roots
of black baseball.” The movie features many authentic, rare
collectibles including jerseys signed by legendary Negro Leagues’
Buck O'Neill and a 1950s football helmet worn by Emlen Tunnell, the
first black player for the New York Giants.
The bobble-head figure was fashioned after legendary baseball star
satchel Paige. The dashboard doll becomes Nick’s ‘confidant’
on his treacherous journey. “He’s like the voice of reason
in Nick’s head,” says Ice Cube. (Actor Tracy Morgan is
the voice of satchel Paige).
Why satchel Paige? Ice Cube maintains that Paige, who made his debut
in the major leagues at age 42 and pitched in the majors until he
was 59, never really got his just due in history: "I could have
used a contemporary ball player, but I just thought it'd be a little
more flavor if we had somebody from the old Negro Leagues."
A bobble-head doll isn't the only inanimate object that seems to take
on a life of it’s own. Nick’s Lincoln Navigator parallels
his progress throughout the film. "The journey that the Navigator
takes really mirrors Nick’s bachelorhood,” says Levant,
“because, by the end, it too has been destroyed ... we’ve
flattened his wheels and his pride."
But, basically, says Ice Cube, Are We There Yet? is the kind of movie
that will please the family audience. "It’s a good story
that is fun and upbeat. It’s a really cool tale of what two
people have to go through to be together.”
"The whole audience will find it accessible and funny,”
promises Mohr. “Whether you’re an adult or a kid, you'll
be able to relate to what’s going on. Anyone who’s ever
been in a car for longer than 20 minutes and didn't know where they
were going is going to get it.”
For Levant, the movie’s title gave him carte blanche to go push
the envelope throughout and try to provide audience with a perfect
evening out of the house. "I really wanted to give people their
money’s worth by continually turning up the heat, adding more
energy and just piling on the incidents. I want them to leave satisfied
that we left no comedy stone unturned."
And maybe, adds Alvarez, the film can also slip in a subliminal message.
“At the end of the day, what we're saying is that family is
the most important thing one has. As long as you have the support
of your family and there’s love, then everything’s cool,
you'll get by, you'll be fine.”
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—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections |
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