Johnson Family Vacation (2004)

AAA can't help the roadside emergency that is the JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION. Even the on-board navigation system has a meltdown on Nate Johnson and his family's cross-country trek to their ... See full summary »

Director:

Christopher Erskin

Writers:

Todd R. Jones, Earl Richey Jones

Stars:

Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, Bow Wow

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Nate Johnson / Uncle Earl
Vanessa Williams	...	Dorothy Johnson
Solange Knowles	...	Nikki Johnson
Bow Wow	...	D.J. Johnson
Gabby Soleil	...	Destiny Johnson
Shannon Elizabeth	...	Chrishelle Rene Boudreau
Steve Harvey	...	Mack Johnson
Aloma Wright	...	Glorietta Johnson
Shari Headley	...	Jacqueline
Jennifer Freeman	...	Jill
Philip Bolden	...	Mack Jr. (as Philip Daniel Bolden)
Rodney Perry	...	Cousin Lump (as Rodney B. Perry)
Christopher B. Duncan	...	Stan
Lorna Scott	...	Gladys
Kevin P. Farley	...	Stall Guy (as Kevin Farley)

Storyline

AAA can't help the roadside emergency that is the JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION. Even the on-board navigation system has a meltdown on Nate Johnson and his family's cross-country trek to their annual family reunion/grudge match. Reluctantly along for the ride are Nate's wife, who's only in it for the kids; their rapper-wannabe son; their teenage daughter who's fashioned herself as the next Lolita; and their youngest, whose imaginary dog Nate just can't seem to keep track of. Can the Johnsons survive each other and all the obstacles the road throws at them to make it to Caruthersville, Missouri? Can they find Missouri?

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Plot Keywords:

cross country | family relationships | on the road | highway travel | roadtrip | 

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Taglines:

Wrong turn in Arizona. No brakes in Colorado. Arrested in Kansas. It's the ultimate family trip.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, crude humor and brief drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Arrivano i Johnson

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$37,804 (South Africa) (9 July 2004)

Gross:

$31,179,516 (USA) (13 August 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Hallway Pictures, Bird and a Bear Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Solanges Knowles' (Beyoncé Knowles' sister) makes an ad lib reference to her sister during a cell phone conversation in her first scene of the movie. Her character's little sister in the movie is named "Destiny" an obvious reference to her sister's former group Destiny's Child.

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Goofs

In the bathroom of Bun World, the stains on the chef's apron change from shot to shot.

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Quotes

Nate Johnson: Nikki, this better be FTD, cuz this Russian tail is old enough to be yo' grandaddy
Nikki Johnson: Not mom's big daddy

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Connections

Features Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Lay Yo Body Down"
Written by Willie Moore and Louis Harden, Jr.
Courtesy of Wilflo Music Group and MD Productions

User Reviews

A Family Ride You Won't Want To Take

Johnson Family Vacation is a very stupid comedy that's really not worth watching. Cedric the Entertainer plays Nate Johnson, a family man who agrees to take his brood across country to Missouri for the annual family reunion. Can his dysfunctional family survive the trip without killing each other? The plot is very generic and the execution is nothing new. The movie is so bland that there's no reason to actually go out and see it. The cast makes this film a bit better but they don't seem to be really be trying. Cedric the Entertainer and Vanessa L. Williams both play their roles decently. Solange Knowles and Bow Wow play their kids and both don't really give memorable performances. Shannon Elizabeth was probably the best part about the film, too bad she's in it for about ten minutes. Steve Harvey has a small role as Nate's brother. Every second he is on screen though, makes the film very hard to watch as he is not funny at all. Christopher Erskin directs his first film and he can hopefully improve if he decides to make another one. The writers got very lazy in this film as most of the jokes fall flat. There may be a funny one here or there but that's not enough. This wouldn't had been problem if the running time wasn't 110 minutes. Since it is so long, there aren't enough jokes to sustain its running time. Also this film feels a lot longer then 110 minutes. When compared to other films, its better then The Cookout and Soul Plane. The National Lampoons road trip movies are a lot better and you should stick with those. In the end, this a very generic film that's not worth watching, though its pretty inoffensive. Rating 4/10, skip this unless your a die-hard fan of any of the stars involved.