The most offensive thing about Johnson Family Vacation is its cloying ability to be safe and harmless at every turn. The film is a conceptual snore and an even bigger redundant mess of clichés, stale humor, and worn references once it begins to play itself out. It tells the story of a goofy but well-meaning family, led by the patriarch Nate Johnson (Cedric the Entertainer), who desperately wants to reconnect his distant family following the divorce with his wife Dorothy (Vanessa Williams). Him and his wife, along with their kids - the careless Nikki (Solange Knowles), the smart-ass D.J. (Bow Wow), and the precocious seven-year-old Destiny (Gabby Soleil) - plan to make the trek from Los Angeles to Missouri, sticking to a tight schedule concocted by Nate that will have them in Missouri in due time.What if I told you that sticking to the schedule didn't wind up happening? What if I told you that everything that could possibly go wrong for the family went wrong and they were met with a barrage of ridiculous circumstances? Would you be at all surprised or would you just go along with the film's silliness? There was a point in time, about thirty minutes into Johnson Family Vacation, where I sat back and instead of actively anticipating I was passively expecting and observing. I ceased any and all anticipation and just went on to expecting a rote assembly of clichés and preposterous circumstances. This is what I bill a film under the subgenre of "maximum antics, minimum laughter," or a film that is so heavily bent on situational humor it forgets to actually find the humor in such situations. What often entails, and does here, is a mindless excursion filled with comedic pitfalls and dead-ends begging to get a laugh out of its audience. The film is so menial and redundant that its existence begs a justification; it's so bland and flavorless that it's not even worth existing, let alone analyzing or reviewing.Again, Johnson Family Vacation isn't especially offensive in any regard; it's existence and its noticeable harmlessness is by far the most annoying thing about it. It does nothing to capitalize on its archetypes masquerading as characters - something that made successful road comedies like National Lampoon's Vacation, the film this wants to be so very much, lasting in impact and memorable. Instead, we get a comedy that operates on autopilot and, in turn, aims low, hits low, and provides us with almost nothing in terms of longevity.Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, Solange Knowles, Bow Wow, and Gabby Soleil. Directed by: Christopher Eskrin.

This film is definitely one for somebody who has arrived late from work and wants to watch a light hearted comedy. Cedric the entertainer is very comedic especially when he disputes music with Bow wow and in the pool with all the large ladies. From start to finish from California to the family reunion there are comedic and witty moments and everything from launching urine at a policeman to running out of gas and meeting uncle earl who is also Cedric the entertainer happens. A film for everyone who loves long journeys and Solange Knowles, (I know i do). The film is alike a 'My Wife and Kids' episode and coninscidently features Jennifer Freeman. A great family film with an excellent ending

Johnson Family Vacation is a very stupid comedy that's really not worth watching. Cedric the Entertainer plays Nate Johnson, a family man who agrees to take his brood across country to Missouri for the annual family reunion. Can his dysfunctional family survive the trip without killing each other? The plot is very generic and the execution is nothing new. The movie is so bland that there's no reason to actually go out and see it. The cast makes this film a bit better but they don't seem to be really be trying. Cedric the Entertainer and Vanessa L. Williams both play their roles decently. Solange Knowles and Bow Wow play their kids and both don't really give memorable performances. Shannon Elizabeth was probably the best part about the film, too bad she's in it for about ten minutes. Steve Harvey has a small role as Nate's brother. Every second he is on screen though, makes the film very hard to watch as he is not funny at all. Christopher Erskin directs his first film and he can hopefully improve if he decides to make another one. The writers got very lazy in this film as most of the jokes fall flat. There may be a funny one here or there but that's not enough. This wouldn't had been problem if the running time wasn't 110 minutes. Since it is so long, there aren't enough jokes to sustain its running time. Also this film feels a lot longer then 110 minutes. When compared to other films, its better then The Cookout and Soul Plane. The National Lampoons road trip movies are a lot better and you should stick with those. In the end, this a very generic film that's not worth watching, though its pretty inoffensive. Rating 4/10, skip this unless your a die-hard fan of any of the stars involved.

Ugh, this movies was bad. Not so bad that you want to hunt the filmmakers down and get your money back. Bud pretty close. The movie insults its audience on so many levels. Do we not have a clue which end of a car the muffler is on? It is so forced and contrived. The wife is just mean to the hubby. Shannon Elizabeth's alligator comes out of nowhere, and The Entertainer is just an Ego Maniac. I mean please, even Madonna didn't call herself "Madonna The Signer" How far would Spielberg have gotten as "Steven The Director" Cedric's head is bigger then the fat body you get to see in this movie. Which by the way the only bear chest exposed in this is his. I'd NEVER watch this again.