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.”
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