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Film Gecko

"College Road Trip" Review

by Jane Boursaw on July 15th, 2008

Movie: College Road Trip * Official Site On DVD: July 15, 2008
Runtime: 83 minutes Directed by: Roger Kumble
MPAA Rating: G Gecko Rating: 

This fun flick stars Raven-Symone (That’s So Raven) as Melanie Porter, a college-bound teen who wants to study law at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her dad, James (Martin Lawrence), is a control-freak cop who’d prefer she attend the nearby Northwestern University, just minutes away from their Chicago home.

Melanie’s sensible mom, Michelle (Kym E. Whitley), is on her daughter’s side. She realizes that even though James thinks he has Melanie’s best interests at heart, it’s actually the other way around. He has to learn how to let go.

More after the jump, including a trailer…

When Melanie gets an unexpected interview at Georgetown, she decides to take a road trip with her best friends, Nancy (Brenda Song) and Katie (Margo Harshman). James catches wind of the idea and decides to take her himself – and try to convince her to attend Northwestern in the process. Adding laughs are Melanie’s little brother Trey (Eshaya Draper) and his pet pig Albert (a math and science whiz!), who stow away in the back of the van.

You know things aren’t going to go as planned, because it’s a Disney movie. Along the way, the group loses their car when it accidentally rolls over a hill (they’re not in it, thank goodness!), and they end up hitching a ride with saccharine-sweet college-bound girl, Wendy Greenhut (Molly Ephraim), and her equally-saccharine-sweet dad, Doug (Donny Osmond).

I have to mention one scene where Melanie and her friends are dancing in an upstairs room at a sorority house. Through the window, it appears to her dad like she’s being strangled and/or murdered. In reality, it’s just the girls having fun, and one of them has a scarf around the other’s neck and is sort of pulling her backwards. I just thought that was a weird scene to include, and I hope kids are smart enough not to try that at home – because they could be seriously hurt.

Other than that, this movie could easily have found a home on the Disney Channel. It has the same wacky stunts and moral message (family and friends are important, trust the people you love) as movies typically found on the tween network.

I’m sure Raven-Symone will probably break out sooner or later and do more grown-up films, but I’m glad she hasn’t gone there yet. I love her because she doesn’t fit the mold of super-skinny young starlets, and she seems happy and proud to be who she is, rather than fitting someone else’s ideal of “perfect.” That’s a good message to give young girls.

Familiar stars, a few laughs, and a funny pig make this a pleasant movie for the whole family. And if you’re a parent of tweens and teens who will be leaving home sooner than you think, don’t be surprised if you end up bawling during the poignant scene where Melanie says goodbye and goes to college. I did! I’m sure I embarrassed my 10-year-old daughter sitting next to me.

DVD EXTRAS: Gag Reel; Alternate opening and endings; deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Roger Kumble; “Double Dutch Bus” music video performed by Raven-Symone; On the Set: Double Dutch Bus; Raven’s Video Diary; Two Audio Commentaries with 1) Director Roger Kumble and Raven-Symone; and 2) Writers Emi Mochizuki and Carrie Evans.

Trailer:

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Images: College Road Trip, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2008

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