Johnson Family Vacation

PG-13

Released Mar 31, 2004

1 hr. 37 min.

Comedy

List

6%

89 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Separated from his beautiful wife (Vanessa L. Williams), Nate Johnson (Cedric the Entertainer) wants to make amends with her and spend time with his kids, finding the perfect chance for bonding in a cross-country trip to a family reunion. Convincing them all to join in on the journey, Nate takes the Johnson clan on a trek from California to Missouri, but they encounter various strange situations and eccentrics along the way, including a quirky hitchhiker (Shannon Elizabeth).

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jan 04

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Hulu

Prime Video

Apple TV

Watch Johnson Family Vacation with a subscription on Hulu, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

The poorly crafted Johnson Family Vacation squanders its talented cast in a bland family road comedy that draws unfavorable comparisons to Chevy Chase's Vacation movies.

Read Critics Reviews

Ash P

For this being close to 20 years old in the next half a year and it was free on YouTube and yeah... it was bad. But the humor was fun to laugh at that I remember seeing this when I was in middle school. Bad acting, bad story and even a forced morale as the movie goes but still, the humor carried the movie until the end. Not a terrible movie since there were worse family flicks out there with little to less humor. To be fair, this feels more like a stand-up comedy from Cedric the Entertainer as I enjoy his humor. Hell, today years old that I learned that Steve Harvey was in this movie which was actually hilarious. The things you learn in your early thirties. But I digress. 4/10.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/26/23

Full Review

Kazall R

Despite it's lame jokes, Johnson Family Vacation is a fun movie with a decent story and great cast of talent.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/22/23

Full Review

Gortee U

Meh movie, the least chaotic version of the car trip

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

ashley h

Johnson Family Vacation is an okay film. It is about a family who travels cross-country to go a family reunion. Cedric the Entertainer and Vanessa Williams give decent performances. The script is a little slow in places. Christopher Erskin did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the humor.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Keshon L

this movie is really funny to me i really think when they go to the hotel and the swining was funny,and the alligator scene was funny because the dad was drowning the dad drowning the alligator in water then the son says that don't drown in water that is funny.everything is pretty predictable and dumb at the same time and that song they have is good but i'm like can you start rapping this movie up so i can go with my life.I really like that praying arugment that was great.but everything else is just boring and not really a fan of road trip movies because find them very predictable and not really fun but this movie is just all over the place but i guess that is what its suppose to be but yeah.this movie i would rewatch just because of the funny but everything is just bland but this movie is 5/10.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/30/22

Full Review

Otvio F

Senseless jokes and humor without laughter sink this movie, a shame because the cast is amazing.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/11/22

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Christopher Erskin

Director

Cedric the Entertainer

Nate Johnson

Vanessa Williams

Dorothy Johnson

Solange Knowles

Nikki Johnson

Shad "Bow Wow" Moss

D.J. Johnson

Gabby Soleil

Destiny Johnson

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

67%

60%

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

9%

46%

Man of the House

69%

48%

Barbershop 2: Back in Business

5%

37%

The Cookout

21%

41%

Rumor Has It ...

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Thor, Hulk, Captain America … and a Few More New Marvels

Trailer Bulletin: RV

Another One of Those Darn Family Vacations…

View more photos

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

This is a real mess, with out-of-focus shots and continuity lapses that suggest a production in chaos.

Mar 6, 2007

Full Review

David Germain

Associated Press

Packing all the tired trappings of the raunchy road-trip genre, this loutish comedy plays out as a loosely threaded collection of shrill jokes and cliched sight gags.

Mar 6, 2007

Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

The direction on Johnson Family Vacation is numbingly slack; the synapses between the scenes don't spark effortlessly, as they should, and the whole enterprise feels dragged-down and belabored.

Apr 17, 2004

Full Review

Beth Pratt

Common Sense Media

This charmless movie not for children.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 1, 2011

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Mechanical performances by Vanessa Williams and Bow Wow, as Nate's musically inclined son, impair Cedric's earnest comedic efforts in this spasmodic comedy.

Rated: C

May 4, 2009

Full Review

Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

Several laugh-out-loud moments are scattered throughout this otherwise dumb-and-gets-even-dumber African-American road trip.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Separated from his beautiful wife (Vanessa L. Williams), Nate Johnson (Cedric the Entertainer) wants to make amends with her and spend time with his kids, finding the perfect chance for bonding in a cross-country trip to a family reunion. Convincing them all to join in on the journey, Nate takes the Johnson clan on a trek from California to Missouri, but they encounter various strange situations and eccentrics along the way, including a quirky hitchhiker (Shannon Elizabeth).

Director: Christopher Erskin
Screenwriter: Earl Richey Jones, Todd R. Jones
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Fox Searchlight, Magic Hallway Pictures, A Bird and a Bear Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Crude Humor|Brief Drug Material|Some Sexual References)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $31.2M
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now