In this work, the problem to disperse cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) in hydrophobic polymer matrices has been addressed through application of an environmentally friendly chemical modification approach inspired by clay chemistry. The objective is to compare the effects of unmodified CNC and modified CNC (modCNC) reinforcement, where degree of CNC dispersion is of interest. Hydrophobic functionalization made it possible to disperse wood-based modCNC in organic solvent and cast well-dispersed nanocomposite films of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) with 1-20 wt % CNC. Composite films were studied by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-vis spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), tensile testing, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Strongly increased mechanical properties were observed for modCNC nanocomposites. The reinforcement efficiency was much lower in unmodified CNC composites, and specific mechanisms causing the differences are discussed.