Familie Johnson geht auf Reisen

Recently estranged parents Cedric the Entertainer and Vanessa L. Williams come back together to go to Cedric's family reunion. Along for the ride are their three kids (super-cool Lil' Bow Wow, super-hot Solange Knowles and super-cute Gabby Soleil) and a wide variety of mishaps and misadventures as they hit the road together in a new SUV that Cedric has borrowed from a dealership. Naturally their trip from Los Angeles to Missouri will have hilarious consequences along the way. Cedric has ulterior motives to win a "Family of the Year" prize at the reunion, getting it away from older brother Steve Harvey (in a well-timed role). He also has to contend with his mother (Aloma Wright) when he reaches his destination, but first he and his family must over-come ultra-sexy hitchhiker Shannon Elizabeth (who happens to be a black magic priestess) and even an unseen 18-wheeler driver who continues to push Cedric's buttons. "Johnson Family Vacation" is basically an African American version of the "National Lampoon's Vacation" series. Cedric and Williams have the same comedic timing and relationship that Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo shared during their long run. The kids though here are quite better than any throughout the aforementioned series. But the similarities between this movie and those from the previous series are amazing as we have an erotic stranger, a rented vehicle, a road trip, a family get-together and even a take on a Wayne Newton song. In many ways "Johnson Family Vacation" is old hat, but I still liked the film because Cedric is just such a hilarious screen presence. The others all feed off his intensity and Williams is the ultimate "straight lady" in the mix as she just seems out of place with her great looks and outstanding manners (this is a compliment to her by the way). Eventually the movie loses its way as the trip nears a close, but "Johnson Family Vacation" is still a very funny experience at the movies. Does that make it a good production? Certainly not, but it is still a legitimate rest from reality. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

When I saw the rating of 3.4 for JFV I was really surprised. I thought that it would at least have a rating of 6.7 or 7.0. I really hate to say it that people like crap movies like van helsing and alamo but think that this movie is bad. JFV was simply hilarious and it is a very neat and clean comedy with neat and clean humor mostly. Everyone must watch this movie with an open mind. This is for the first time black people have been treated so well on screen and I really loved it because the kind of role they are normally seen in are crackheads or drug dealers. In this movie the black family is shown as a very normal and civilized family and I really liked it. Good Job Cedric the entertainer.

My Rating 10/10

I had printed out the earlier review, as I found it was going to be one of the in-flight movies due to be shown on a flight from Cleveland to London last week, so was forewarned that it was not one of the best films ever made. However, I had not realized that it was going to prove to be undoubtedly the most awful film I have ever seen. A truly stomach churning experience; everyone seemed to over act outrageously and all spoke at full volume the whole time. I even tried it with other language sound tracks on the aircraft sound system but nothing could improve it. I believe it was supposed to be a comedy but how anyone could find anything remotely amusing in this sorry farrago, beats me. Definitely NOT recommended!

This movie should have been funnier. So many things made no sense like why Cedric insisted on talking with that ridiculous accent and why Steve Harvey refused to be funny. As a black man, I am so disappointed when a black movie just sucks.

It was a good kid movie, though, because kids don't care.

The Griswald family's first vacation is the standard for all vacation movies. However, it is not as kid friendly as Johnson Family Vacation. The hot tub scene with the 4 big girls was just begging for funny. Hitler could have gotten more laughs in that scene. Vanessa Williams could not possibly be any more beautiful, though. It was almost worth the price of admission to see her, but not quite.

Spend a couple of hours with the Griswold, oops, I mean Johnson family as they take to the road for their family reunion.

Cedric the Entertainer supplies the laughs, all seven of them. A sexy female traveler inciting marital tension, being given the wrong car at the dealership, unkempt rural relatives, we've seen it all before.

But what might be the funniest thing of all about this predictable remake of National Lampoon's Vacation is that (Lil') Bow Wow has a higher billing than Vanessa Williams.

But the fact remains that if you are looking for about 90 minutes of profanity free family entertainment which, by the way, is becoming harder and harder to find these days, then maybe The Johnson Family Vacation is just what the doctor ordered.