Johnson Family Vacation
| Johnson Family Vacation | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Christopher Erskin |
| Produced by | Andrew Sugerman, Cedric the Entertainer, Earl Richey Jones, Eric Rhone, Paul Hall, Todd R. Jones, Wendy Park |
| Written by |
Earl Richey Jones Todd R. Jones |
| Starring |
Cedric the Entertainer Shannon Elizabeth Bow Wow Solange Knowles Gabby Soleil Steve Harvey Vanessa Williams |
| Music by | Richard Gibbs |
| Cinematography |
Jeff Barnett Shawn Maurer |
| Edited by | John Carter |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates | April 7, 2004 |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million[1] |
| Box office | $31,462,753 |
Johnson Family Vacation is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Christopher Erskin. It stars Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, Bow Wow, Gabby Soleil, Shannon Elizabeth, Solange Knowles, and Steve Harvey. The film is director Erskin's first feature film directorial project.
Plot
Nate Johnson (Cedric the Entertainer) and his family have been invited to their big family reunion in Missouri. He sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with his estranged wife (Williams) and growing children, as well as a chance to show up his wealthier know-it-all brother, Mack (Harvey). Nate takes delivery on an expensive new SUV, persuades his recently separated wife Dorothy to tag along, and packs up his three kids — nubile teenager Nikki (Knowles), under-age wannabe rapper D.J. (Bow Wow), and precocious seven-year-old Destiny (Soleil) — for what he imagines will be a leisurely drive from Los Angeles to Missouri. Between his wary wife, arguing kids, angry police officers, a bizarre hitchhiker (Shannon Elizabeth), bad diner food, and an unfortunate run-in with a cement mixer, getting from point A to point B proves to be just short of a nightmare.
Cast
- Cedric the Entertainer as Nate Johnson/Uncle Earl
- Bow Wow as Divirnius James 'D.J.' Johnson
- Vanessa Williams as Dorothy Johnson
- Christopher B. Duncan as Stan
- Solange Knowles as Nikki Johnson
- Shannon Elizabeth as Chrishelle Rene Boudreau
- Gabby Soleil as Destiny Johnson
- Steve Harvey as Mack Johnson
- Aloma Wright as Glorietta Johnson
- Godfrey as Motorcycle Cop
- Jason Momoa — Navarro
- Jennifer Freeman — Jill
- Jeremiah "J.J." Williams Jr. — Cousin Bodie
- Lee Garlington — Betty Sue
- Lorna Scott — Gladys
- Philip Daniel Bolden as Mack Jr.
- Rodney Perry — Cousin Lump
- Shari Headley — Jacqueline
- Tanjareen Martin — Tangerine
Reception
Johnson Family Vacation received generally negative reviews. It scored a 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 90 reviews,[2] making it one of the site's worst-reviewed movies of 2004. The film has a 29/100 rating on Metacritic, based on 24 reviews.[3] The critics gave it a C− rating at Yahoo! Movies.[4]
Awards & nominations
2004 BET Comedy Awards
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Box Office Movie — Cedric the Entertainer (nominated)
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Box Office Movie — Vanessa Williams (nominated)
- Outstanding Writing for a Box Office Movie (nominated)