College Road Trip (2008)

O Masterpiece
O Excellent
O Rental
X OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / March 12, 2008

Though he’s over-protective and controlling, James Porter (Martin Lawrence) is a good father who finally has to come to terms with something he’s dreaded for 17 years: His little girl is growing up. Perplexed by how quickly the years have passed, he wonders, ‘Where does the time go?’ and we can’t help but suspect that Lawrence, who has a daughter of his own, isn’t just an actor delivering a line.

The time has come for Porter’s college-bound daughter, Melanie (Raven-Symoné), to head off for some higher education. Dad has always planned for her to attend Northwestern University, which is only 40 miles from their Chicago home. But Melanie has her eye on Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Soon the daddy-daughter debate spills over into a weekend road trip, a proverbial college tour. Several surprises pop up along their adventure, including one painfully over-the-top Donny Osmond.

Martin Lawrence is an excellent actor. Excellent. His dramatic talents are often overlooked for his comedic abilities. But watch and be impressed as he pulls off genuine, and happy, two difficult emotions to portray convincingly. (Ever try to fake happiness over an unwanted gift? It’s tough.) I’d love to see what Lawrence could do in a serious dramatic role. Comedians often migrate to drama: Jim Carrey, Robin Williams. If Lawrence ever tries it, I’d bet you money he’d nail it. Mark my words.

“College Road Trip,” a Walt Disney Production, is a true family film, as opposed to these cloaked PG-13-jobs parading as PG movies. “College Road Trip” is admirably clean, and it doesn’t sink to the crass, gross-out humor prevalent in many recent, dimwitted comedies.

In fact, there’s something for just about everybody. For the younger kids, we get intermittent, animated maps, showing us the distance between the Porter home and various colleges; and there’s also Albert, a “Houdini pig” whose recurring antics should keep little viewers enthralled. (Oh, and to give an example of the movie’s innocence, at one point the pig is “under the influence” of a substance; but it’s not beer or illegal drugs, it’s caffeine from coffee beans.)

For the teens there’s a decent soundtrack that features some hip tunes here and there, such as “Double-dutch Bus.” (It sounds better than it sounds.) Also, Melanie and her friends are your typical teenage girls, exhibiting typical teenage-girl humor.

And for the adults, “College Road Trip” offers a surprising number of reflective moments that will resonate with parents. These are ingenious insertions, because as we parents look at our smiling kids and think about the day they’ll be leaving the nest, we’re immediately grateful to be sitting through such silliness … with them.

Directed by Roger Kumble
Martin Lawrence / Raven-Symoné / Eshaya Draper
Comedy / Family 83 min.
MPAA: G

U.S. Release Date: March 7, 2008
Copyright 2008: 257