This isn't a BAD movie.
JFV is not as bad as you people make it out to be. In fact, I liked it... and I'm not the only one.
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MovieChat Forums > Johnson Family Vacation (2004) Discussion > This isn't a BAD movie.
I'm sorry. I tried to watch this movie a chance, but it was, IMO, pretty bad. A lot of the scenes were just pretty painful to watch, and were actually overacted, the actual reunion scene being the worst.
shareWhat scenes were painful for you? Many people say Al Pacino overacted at the end of Scarface (I don't agree with that though) but that doesn't make the movie bad. Did you expect this movie to be any funnier? Remember it is a roadtrip...
As with Are We There Yet, a lot of kids like this movie. My kids enjoy these movies and so do I.
I'm glad you could enjoy it. At least someone did.
shareAnd I'm not the only one either.
Please answer me people, what scenes were distressingly painful to you? And please don't come back with "the whole movie" or something like that... respond with sense.
Nobody's responding :-(
I guess I'll start by mentioning some of the things I like about this film.
music
atmosphere (especially at the reunion)
acting
close knit family ambiance
some of the jokes
the ending (although expected)
The predictable ending puts a subliminal message into the minds of kids and other young people, that a unified family always wins. Yeah, I know it's a sugary message, but it's better than "hit it and quit it" or some other careless, irresponsible message.
Somebody said the kids were "ghetto" obviously they don't know much about ghetto acting people. The kids were NOT ghetto. To me they were real. You know the love/hate relationship that most siblings share and the rebellious daughter stage most girls go through with their fathers (if they're around long enough to see their child go through puberty).
One thing I didn't like about this movie is that so much had to be cut out. At first I didn't like the Chrishelle part either.
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I didn't like it because it was predictable. I'll admit that some aspects weren't, but they weren't funny, which I kind of expect from a comedy. Not that the predictable stuff was at all funny either.
There was one redeeming scene. The 'shot' scene when the CDs are thrown out.
And the message could be forgiven if the family was actually made up of nice individuals, but you find something horrible or mean in each of them, which makes it hard to even feel compassion for our species.
What's wrong with the characters; to the point where you couldn't feel anything for them? They were like any other family...
shareI fondly remember the day when my dad threw my CDs out of a moving vehicle, and when my mother left him naked in a pool surronded by fat chicks.
No. They are bad people. Even if they are not 'evil', I would hate to know any of them.
More kids like this movie than adults (hence the reviews). People always find something wrong with "kid movies".
About the characters:
I know people that are way more evil than them. Yeah, some of the people in this movie did mean things, but damn! Evil, bad people... I don't think so. Now if the dad threw DJ out of the car instead of throwing his CDs out, then I'd call him evil (I knew people that threw others out of the car or push them in front of cars). Besides, they were well-off. They'll just buy the CDs again. That's no biggie.
If my mom was to lock my dad outside of the house in the middle of winter with no clothes on while a party was going on next door, then I would call her evil.
More kids like this movie than adults (hence the reviews). People always find something wrong with "kid movies".
About the characters:
I know people that are way more evil than them. Yeah, some of the people in this movie did mean things, but damn! Evil, bad people... I don't think so. Now if the dad threw DJ out of the car instead of throwing his CDs out, then I'd call him evil (I knew people that threw others out of the car or push them in front of cars). Besides, they were well-off. They'll just buy the CDs again. That's no biggie.
If my mom was to lock my dad outside of the house in the middle of winter with no clothes on while a party was going on next door, then I would call her evil.
I said they weren't evil. But bad people. Yes there are worse, but I don't think they intentionally went out to make them bad in the first place. Just 'funny'.
shareIf I choose to watch beautiful, award winning movies, these are at the top of my list: Casino, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Scarface, and The Godfather(s).
If I want to sit back and watch a movie with my kids, these are the ones I choose: Are We There Yet, Johnson Family Vacation, Garfield, Home Alone, all the Lindsay Lohan and Hillary Duff flicks, Spongebob, all the Nickelodeon toons and movies (Good Burger, etc.) and Disney Channel stuff (Kim Possible, Cheetah Girls, etc.), and so on... I can recall numerous films that I loved as a child, but only chuckle at now. Kids and adults don't like the same kinds of movies all the time. Kids aren't that hard to please. They don't like movies for its award winning script and beautiful camera work.
I never said that they did. But they also don't have a good understanding of what is a good film. To most small kids it would be 90 minutes of fart jokes.
Not so many of those in this film, but their is a pee joke, I think that counts.
Add me to the list of people that doesn't think JFV wasn't a bad movie. True, it wasn't going to win many Oscars, but it did serve the purpose of being a cute family film that everyone could enjoy. This was a film that adults and kids alike could enjoy, which is hard to find in this day and age.
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In response... I don't think beautiful movies have to have violence, not necessarily. I like crime movies best though :-)
I know plenty of adults who like Harry Potter movies, books, and those other movies you named more than their kids as a matter of fact.
With adults, they take everything literally. Kids have very active imaginations, so things that we think are silly, crazy, and plain ignorant is perfectly okay to them (well, you got some kids that think like adults though).
Johnson Family Vacation is rated PG-13 mainly because of the drug paraphernalia. These days, kids under 13 should already know about that stuff therefore shouldn't have a problem seeing it in a movie. Still regardless of the rating, we know that our kids should and shouldn't see.
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"And the message could be forgiven if the family was actually made up of nice individuals, but you find something horrible or mean in each of them, which makes it hard to even feel compassion for our species."
so because there black you hate them
i loved this movie, the reason you all hate it is because it's a black family you should be ashamed and vote this up to a 10
shareSomeone else hit the nail on the head, it tried to be funny, and IMO, it just didn't work.
Some examples:
-The reunion scene where Cedric and Steve Harvey's character are trying to outdo each other with the prayer.
-Cedric playing his uncle the mechanic.
-The reunion scene where Steve Harvey and his family did the step routine (nothing more than an excuse for Steve to show off his fraternity ties). I'm a black man, so I do realize Steve's frat background (Omega Psi Phi--he even has the frat's shield on his sitcom set), but I still thought the idea of a family doing a step routine (in matching costumes) was lame and corny.
-Vanessa Williams' character's boyfriend (Braxton from "The Jamie Foxx Show") stopping by the reunion with his 18-wheeler...what was worse was Steve Harvey's crying b/c the big rig crushed the trophy
I just thought it was a badly written movie, and found it unrealistic, even by movie standards. For it to be PG-13 tells me it wasn't too much of a kiddie/family movie.
Nope, no awards for this movie. Even so, the overall message is important. You gotta admit it's better than some of the other messages they pick up on other movies/shows.
It's mainly rated PG-13 because of the drug stuff (it also has a few "nasty" jokes, what have you) nothing that kids under 13 haven't seen or heard before. I never said this movie was the second coming, but it's not AS BAD as some people make it out to be either. Some parts are pretty good. I just got tired of everyone bashing this movie and making it seem like the few who like it are dense or something. That's pretty low, to ridicule kids...
Nope, no awards for this movie. Even so, the overall message is important. You gotta admit it's better than some of the other messages they pick up on other movies/shows.
It's mainly rated PG-13 because of the drug stuff (it also has a few "nasty" jokes, what have you) nothing that kids under 13 haven't seen or heard before. I never said this movie was the second coming, but it's not AS BAD as some people make it out to be either. Some parts are pretty good. I just got tired of everyone bashing this movie and making it seem like the few who like it are dense or something. That's pretty low, to ridicule kids...
No, this movie was bad.
The acting was painful throughout.
The story was formulaic to a T.
There were very few actual funny scenes - most parts tried hard to be funny but fell flat.
There was nothing in the movie that was the least bit creative.
There was absolutely no complexity to the movie. The common response to this would be "but it's just a kid's movie." I say go watch Shrek again. A great kid's movie that does have complexity - so many double entendres for example. So yes, a decent kid's movie should at least try for a tiny bit of complexity, whether in the plot, the message, the humor, whatever.
Cinematography/score - quite ordinary - not that I was expecting anything more.
And, some movies are bad, but bad in a campy way, thus making the movie entertatining. This was bad, but not in a campy way.
Some movies are able to use lots of recycled jokes to end up being relatively funny. This movie tried at times, but somehow couldn't even get that right.
Some movies are entertaining adventures. This movie was an adventure, but unfortunately it was the painful sort.
Some movies are [fill in the blank with a positive descriptor]. This movie wasn't.
How can you stand for such a film? This movie is the epitome of everything wrong with Hollywood. This is pure commercial junk only created to make a quick buck without even a spark of creativity.
And I feel sorry for all the kids raised by parents showing this to them. At least feed them some good kid's movies. There are lots of good kid's movies. This isn't one of them.
you don't have to feel sorry for my kids
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You don't know my kids, noodles.
You and others think the Harry Potter movies are good, just like me and others thing Johnson Family Vacation and movies like it are good. That doesn't make us idiots. I did not say that they don't like The Wizard of Oz (they prefer The Wiz to it), or Babe (they prefer Racing Stripes to it).
Did I say I didn't like ET and them now? I believe I mentioned something like, I don't like them AS MUCH either a few posts above or on another board somewhere.
JFV does have a message, an important one that all kids need to hear and understand. Those who are blessed to have solid families or those who are already confused/unfocused may not get it. If you've followed me from the Are We There Yet board, you probably know how I feel about movies like this. Anyway, if kids (and many adults) can watch these movies, look past it's many faults and get something positive, that's what really matters. Most kids don't watch movies for creativity, complexity, and classic movie tendencies.
Don't worry, we know where to turn when we want to watch movies with flawless acting, creativity, and camera work.
You don't know us... we watch everything from kid appropriate black and white movies to Beavis and Butthead (my personal favorite is gangster). It depends on what mood we're in (my personal... Again, who's the idiot?
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yeah, i liked it to.
shareTo call children "idiots" because they have either never watched or don't like certain films deemed suitable for children is quite low. Then again, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
shareI took one thing away from this movie.
NEVER, EVER let your grandparents choose movies to watch.
BTW Cedric the Entertainer took it to another level...he's the Reginald Vel Johnson of this era...if only they could pair him up with a dorky kid and make him a cop in Chicago the sky would be the limit for his career.
shareI think its a nice family film.
sharewow. this movie was horrible. i just watched the whole thing on hbo because there was nothing better to do. i kept waiting for it to get funny or entertaining, but that never happened. i really wish i hadn't sat through it. i have never seen worse acting.
sharethey are all overrated actors. and since when does it mean that if yu sing you can act too! Every singer has been in some kind of movie no matter how bad at acting they are! Some are good at acting, many are too overrated. Unfortunately, Solange and Bow Wow aren't good actors.
shareI liked the movie too, you're not alone and I could care less if anyone disagrees. You know what I actually liked the Honeymooners movie.
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