Have you ever wanted something so much that it actually becomes a quest? And no matter what anyone says, the determination wells up in you to ignore the obvious in order to push forward—even if it will kill you.
No one fits the description better than Nick Persons (Ice Cube) from the movie Are We There Yet? If anyone deserves a medal to commemorate his willingness to do anything as a means to prove he can, it’s Nick. What better way to introduce today’s Wednesday Warrior than to say Nick Persons deserves that medal?
Not many people liked the film Are We There Yet? On IMDB.com the movie comes in with a piddly 4.5 rating, and its critic Metascore is even worse at 27. Awful, is how some viewers found the movie.
However, my kids and I have found the movie so funny, at the same time, so outrageous that we watch it at least once a year during this time between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Why? The story is thin, the characters are abrasive and the plot is wanting. But the situations are so darn hilarious that if you were a parent, you’d know that in hilarity there is always an ounce of truth.
Okay, enough with the intros. Let’s get to Nick and his passion to get things done.
As the owner of a fine collectibles shop, Nick takes pride with his new ownership of his dream Cadillac. The truck is his reward to himself for all those years working late into the evening and on weekends to make his business a success. So, why not flaunt his success with a new Caddy?
Then he meets the woman across the street, Suzanne Kingston (Nia Long). I wouldn’t call it a meeting—it’s more like a lightning bolt struck him several times to remove his sense of intelligence. He comes back to reality when he sees the worst thing ever hitting his vision. In his words, “She’s a breeder.” Two kids belonging to her appears in his sights.
So far, Nick isn’t the most admirable person in the world. However, it isn’t until he offers to take Suzanne’s kids on a cross-country jaunt in his prized Cadillac that he becomes a true hero.
Through several incidents, such as little Kevin (Philip Bolden) crashing the passenger door into a metal pylon, spilling grape juice all over the white interior, the kids locking Nick out of his car and driving off with his prized possession in the heat of a wild chase, does Nick continue with his trip, never surrendering. He simply rises to his feet and continues on his way, in spite of the fact his Cadillac looks more like something that belongs on the top of a junk heap.
Oh, yes, Nick will do anything for the woman who makes his heart melt.
Yet, when it comes down to measuring Nick’s progress as a human being, his relationship with the kids provides him with the greatest growth as a character. If it isn’t for the kids, he wouldn’t have known what being a parent actually means.
For this reason, Nick is an admirable man—for changing and realizing there’s more to life than being a self-centered egotist.
Besides, no one other than Nick could have withstood the mess the kids made of his new Caddy. There’s a medal in there somewhere.
Have you seen Are We There Yet? What do you think of Nick?
Looking to God 
You keep writing about films I’ve never seen. I remember Ice T from New Jack City though, which I imagine is a bit different from this film.
I remember New Jack City, but I think it was a different Ice! 🙂
Love changes us. Love of a woman, and then kids can make some men become model citizens. And then there are some who are broken models, who can not handle the love.