Synopsis
Nia Long is the sexy single mother of two vile little monsters who do everything short oftorturing and killing would-be suitors in the illusory hope that their father will return to thefold one day. Ice Cube plays a fellow who doesn’t like kids (and with these two case studies, whocan blame him?). He falls for Long, and foolishly volunteers to carry her two spawn cross-country for New Year’s Eve. Cue no end of trouble. You got it, it’s Planes, Trains andAutomobiles m…ets Home Alone, with jokes so desperate and flat they should betaken off life-support.
Audio
The audio is good, but isn’t spectacular enough to jump-start the flatlined movie. There areenough environmental effects to pass muster, but they and the music don’t have a lot of spatialsense to them. Nothing really wrong here, but the track is simply a bit ordinary.
Video
The picture looks good, should you be stuck watching the whole movie. The colours arestrong, as are the contrasts and the blacks. There is no grain or edge enhancement, and the imageis very sharp. It all looks just fine, thank you.
Special Features
Director Brian Levant tells us all one could possibly care to learn and more about the makingof the film, even down to how the deal came together (this doesn’t sound much like an auteur’swork, that’s for sure). The making-of featurette is pure promotion. Also here: bloopers, a deletedscene, 3 storyboard comparisons, 9 trailers, and 2 DVD-ROM games. The menu’s main screenis animated and scored, as are the transitions.
Closing Thoughts
Ho-hum toothless and recycled family entertainment.
Special Features List
- Director’s Commentary
- Making-of Featurette
- Trailers
- Bloopers
- Deleted Scene
- Storyboard-to-Film Comparisons
- DVD-ROM Games
