Tagline: Take the ride.
Johnson Family Vacation movie storyline. Even the onboard navigation system has a meltdown on Nate Johnson (Cedric The Entertainer) and his family’s cross-country trek to their annual family reunion / grudge match. Reluctantly along for the ride are Nate’s wife (Vanessa Williams), who’s only in it for the kids; their rapper-wannabe son (Bow Wow); their teenage daughter (Solange Knowles) who’s fashioned herself as the next Lolita; and their youngest (Gabby Soleil), 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?
Anyone who’s ever piled into the car dreaming of a great vacation only to drive off into an out-of-control, disaster-prone, family trip gone south will identify with the comedy of the Johnson Family Vacation. It’s a roadside emergency waiting to happen when Nate Johnson (Cedric The Entertainer) sets out with three unruly kids and one unsatisfied wife on a cross-country trek from California to Missouri for the Johnson family’s annual reunion/grudge match. And yet, even if the Johnsons start out at each other’s throats, in the comic adventures ahead they’re about to rediscover one another’s hearts.
Despite being virtually ignored by his separated wife Dorothy (Vanessa Williams) and out of touch with his rapper-wanna-be son (Bow Wow), his Lolita-like teenage daughter (Solange Knowles) and his imaginary-dog-toting youngest child (Gabby Soleil), Nate is convinced that he and his relations can make off with the coveted Johnson Reunion Family of the Year award. But first they have to make it to Missouri. From the minute Nate hits the accelerator of his Lincoln Navigator, the Johnsons encounter one mishap after another, as they are sucked into the universe of Murphy’s Law where anything that can go wrong does… and the catastrophes just keep multiplying.
Along the way, Nate is chased by an 18-wheeler out for revenge, savaged by unhygienic diners, put under a spell by a voodoo hitchhiker, taken into police custody for using a “biological weapon,” set adrift in a corn field and trapped in a hot tub nightmare. Still, nothing can detour Nate from getting his family to Missouri on time – except maybe finding Missouri.
A high-spirited ode to the delights and disasters that come with loving a family, and a new take on the vacation comedy, Johnson Family Vacation marks the feature film debut of director Christopher Erskin, who previously helmed videos for such acts as TLC, Missy Elliot and Boyz II Men.
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 and only feature film directorial project.
Johnson Family Vacation (2004)
Directed by: Christopher Erskin
Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Bow Wow, Vanessa Williams, Steve Harvey, Solange Knowles, Gabby Soleil, Shannon Elizabeth, Aloma Wright, Jennifer Freeman, Tanjareen Martin
Screenplay by: Earl Richey Jones
Production Design by: Keith Brian Burns
Cinematography by: Jeff Barnett, Shawn Maurer
Film Editing by: John Carter
Costume Design by: Dana Campbell
Set Decoration by: Ernie Bishop
Art Direction by; Liba Daniels
Music by: Al Eaton, Richard Gibbs
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual references, crude humor, drug material.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: April 7, 2004
Views: 115
