Johnson Family Vacation

Infobox Film
name = Johnson Family Vacation

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caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Christopher Erskin
producer = Andrew Sugerman, Cedric the Entertainer, Earl Richey Jones, Eric Rhone, Paul Hall, Todd R. Jones, Wendy Park
writer = Earl Richey Jones
Todd R. Jones
starring = Cedric the Entertainer
Bow Wow
Solange Knowles
Steve Harvey
Vanessa Williams
music = Al Eaton
Richard Gibbs
cinematography = Jeff Barnett
Shawn Maurer
editing = John Carter
distributor = Fox Searchlight Pictures
released = flagicon|US April 7, 2004
runtime = 97 min.
country = U.S.A.
language = English
budget = $12,000,000 [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=johnsonfamilyvacation.htm, Box Office Mojo]
gross = $31,203,964
website = http://www.foxsearchlight.com/jfv
amg_id = 1:286561
imdb_id = 0359517

"Johnson Family Vacation" is a 2004 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. However, between his wary wife, arguing kids, angry police officers, bizarre hitchhikers, 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. Picking up a stranger named Chrishelle Rene Boudreau , but found outs that she uses marajuana& has a pet alligator.

Cast

*Cedric the Entertainer — Nate Johnson/Uncle Earl
*Bow Wow — D.J. Johnson
*Vanessa Williams — Dorothy Johnson
*Christopher B. Duncan — Stan
*Solange Knowles — Nikki Johnson
*Shannon Elizabeth — Chrishelle Rene Boudreau
*Gabby Soleil — Destiny Johnson
*Steve Harvey — Mack Johnson
*Aloma Wright — Glorietta Johnson
*Godfrey — 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 — Mack Jr.
*Rodney B. Perry — Cousin Lump
*Shari Headley — Jacqueline

Reception

Reviews were generally poor for the film. It earned a 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/johnson_family_vacation, Rotten Tomatoes] , making it one of the sites worst-reviewed movies of 2004. At Metacritic, the film was given a 29% rating by the critics, and received 23% from Users [http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/johnsonfamilyvacation?q=Johnson%20Family%20Vacation, Metacritic] . The critics gave it a C- rating at Yahoo! Movies [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808473150/info, Yahoo! Movies] , however, Yahoo! Users gave it a higher B rating. Most critics generally believed the movie was a bland rip-off of the popular Chevy Chase "Vacation" films. One critic in particular went so far as to call the picture the worst film of the year. The film did however go on to earn a $25 million USD take in its first three weeks of release in the U.S., which made the $12 million dollar picture a success. By its closing date, September 9, 2004, the film had grossed over $31 million dollars, making nearly triple its production cost in profit.

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)

Sequel

There is currently a proposed sequel for the film which is expected to be released in 2010.

References

External links

* " [http://www.foxsearchlight.com/jfv/ Johnson Family Vacation] " – Official site
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