Former rapper Ice Cube once showed promise as an actor -- be it comedy in Friday or wartime satire in Three Kings. But to see how he's squandered that potential, look no further than Are We Done Yet? Although slightly more tolerable than its predecessor, this sequel is every bit as derivative, tiring, and unfunny -- to the point of being downright scary.

After enduring the road trip from hell in Are We There Yet?, Nick Persons (Cube) nevertheless decided to wed his girlfiend Suzanne (Nia Long) and take her kids (Aleisha Allen and Philip Daniel Bolden) into his home to start his very own family. But after Suzanne announces she's pregnant (with twins, no less), all of a sudden Nick's tiny apartment seems to big for his growing clan. Thus, Nick takes a big plunge and buys  a spacious house in the country. Unfortunately, his dream home quickly turns into a nightmare, with faulty wiring, pesky raccoons, and many more troubles plaguing the Persons brood all at once. Things get even worse when the local realtor/contractor/city inspector/jack of all trades (John C. McGinley) turns the house's renovation into a really extreme makeover, and Nick is stuck trying to keep his cool long enough to work on his budding magazine and provide a true home for his new family.

While I don't expect 100 percent realism at the movies, even the goofiest stories have at least some center of logic and reasoning. Sadly, Are We Done Yet? is not one of them. Much like its predecessor, this film sends Ice Cube's character to the brink of total frustration with all the insanity taking place in his life at the same time -- yet the story depicts him as the jerk for getting upset. I don't know about you, dear reader, but I think it's perfectly reasonable to be angry at a contractor who wears too many hats in order to bilk more money out of a poor sap, then turns the  guy's house into a veritable war zone. Nick must undergo yet another hackneyed moral journey here, so he's made out to be the jerk who has to change, even though reality suggests just the opposite.  

Are We Done Yet? not only joins Next Friday and Barbershop 2 as another laughless Ice Cube comedy, it also dares to use the Cary Grant classic Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House as its basis, which is akin to Carrot Top taking the lead role in a Richard Pryor biopic. It's nothing more than 90 minutes of Ice Cube enduring all sorts of physical torment. This is one of those movies that continues to cram gags that weren't funny the first time down your throat. Trust me, if you've seen one scene of Ice Cube running into a window, you've seen them all. The "nails on a chalkboard" feeling produced by those nasty little kids cackling every time our hero gets hit doesn't help matters either.

All in all, it seems useless for me to complain about  Are We Done Yet? Kids will probably enjoy it anyway. Still, here's a brief word for the parents out there: when given the choice between this sequel or Meet the Robinsons, a cartoon designed to inspire a child's imagination, I hope the latter ranks higher on your must-see list.

MY RATING: * (out of ****)

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "PG" for some innuendos and brief language.)