College Road Trip

I agree that this movie was predictable and simple...but you guys obviously did not take your kids with you. My daughter loves Raven from her Cheetah Girls movies. She is a spectacular role model for girls and her movies are about having fun and doing responsible things as a young woman unlike most of the movies out there with girls as their stars. Most of them focus on chasing boys. She is the positive role model parents pray for.

My girlfriends and I love Martin Lawrence. The faces he pulls never get old. He's got charisma and as soon as he's on screen everyone is smiling. He's the kind of guy that lightens the mood and I know many many people who love seeing him on screen. How can you not like a guy that brings giggles with a gesture or funny face?

If you have daughters take them to see this movie. It's a great kids movie.

Martin Lawrence is hardly the height of great cinematic performers, during the 90's the success of comics such as Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler prevented him from getting to many high profile movies, against the likes of Carrey who is actually funny, Lawrence just didn't represent that much of a Box-Office threat. Now that a lot of those dudes are attempting more serious films, Lawrence has recently had two films released in close quarters the passable Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and this abomination. Basically the film sees Lawrence ferry his daughter around the country in order to help her find the perfect college with several other family members and assorted characters lagging behind. All are suitably "crazy" in that stupid Hollywood way, and Lawrence clearly sees himself as the star of this woeful effort, gurning and overacting his way through as many scenes as possible. Bottom line....the man ain't funny!!! A film similar to this was made not that long ago with Cedric The Entertainer called Jonson Family Vacation. It wasn't great but at least it had a few chuckle worthy moments, I don't think I was amused successfully once during College Road Trip, bar by the sheer poverty of imagination displayed by it's clearly juvenile screenwriters. The director is Roger Kumble who made the excellent Cruel Intentions just short of 10 years ago, and since has been gradually heading down hack road, he may have made a half credible film with Just Friends but 2002's The Sweetest Thing was simply not acceptable. However this is a new nadir for the man I once thought was at least semi-talented, here he directs with a bland eye and is clearly not enthusiastic about the product. Basically he wanted a bit of cash and this was the best way to get it. Comically inept and at times completely unwatchable College Road Trip is as weak a comic effort as I expect 2008 theatres will have to show, and should pop up quickly on DVD. It's an early but strong candidate for the years bottom 10, and may even be the ever irritating Lawrence's worst production to date. Sadly however one is almost certain it will enter the weekends top 5, and might even grab the coveted no.1 spot. Still when the reviews start flying it will drop fast like the dead weight it is. Avoid.

I honestly don't see what the big fuss over College Road Trip is. It wasn't a bad movie, in my opinion. It was actually really lovable, and even though it was certainly mediocre most of the time, and I felt as if at some parts they tried too hard to please the audience with mediocre jokes, it was still very entertaining, and contained a pretty good amount of laughable, and that's laughable in the humorous way, material.

It was also nice seeing Raven Symone in this movie, because I am always used to seeing her in what she's famous for, That's So Raven, and it was enlightening to know she played a role, because I love her in that show. Also, even though Martin Lawrence isn't one of the best actors, and definitely isn't one of my favorites, he's not a terrible one, and if you ask me everyone in this movie could act well for their roles, to some extent. There were scenes where I felt as if the antics were outdated and some lines were just not pulled off to the best of the casts' abilities, but when it was over I ended up having fun with it, and that's what it was meant to be in the first place.

It was of course no masterpiece, and it could have been handled a lot more professionally than it was, but doesn't a ton of movies fall under those categories, and yet, many people enjoy them. Overall, it was a good little movie, that isn't as horrible as the rating and negative comments let on to be, so if you're any bit interested in seeing this movie, go ahead, because it wasn't bad or disappointing at all.

OK, this movie is in no possible way to be family movie of the year, I can't stand Marin Lawerence with a passion, I mean this guy has the most ridicules sense of humor and his movies usually equal bad. But my boyfriend wanted to see College Road Trip so badly, so it was his pick. We saw it tonite, I have to say that actually with several exceptions, this wasn't such a bad family film. As for me and my boyfriend alone to see it? No, uh uh, but I'm judging this as what it is meant to be, a family film. I know that these Disney family films get a little old, the story is played over a million times, but I realized something, the story is safe, so naturally they'll play on it. So honestly, it's not that big of a deal, as for some of the jokes? Some were not that bad, some were cute, but some were just, oh, god, Donny Osmond.

Melanie is what you would call the perfect daughter, perfect grades, good morals, great friends, and has just got an interview with Georgetown University for acceptance. The problem? Her over protective and controlling father, James doesn't want to let go of her, so he tells her that they'll go on a college road trip and in the mean time he'll try to convince her to go to a school closer to home. But along the way he learns that maybe it's time to think of what she wants and to trust her.

College Road Trip isn't a horrific film, I wouldn't put this into the bottom 100 on IMDb, believe me, you could do so much worse when it comes to a Disney family film. I know a lot of people are giving this film a bad rep, but honestly, it's worth it for the kids. It's cute enough for the family, has a good message, and isn't all so bad. Honestly, if it were not for Donny Osmond coming into the film and scaring 10 years off my life, I would give it a higher rating, but I think my rating is generous enough. For the family, I recommend, for an adult, you might wanna avoid. I'll be having nightmares for a few days of Donny and his daughter singing.

4/10

OK, this isn't the movie I would select if just my husband and I were going out for the evening. But WE aren't the audience for this- Disney made this for kids and tweens and YES even teens. I have 3 daughters 13, 11, 7, and this movie hit the notes right for THEM. The interplay between Raven's character Melanie and her friends was right on. There is a scene where Melanie's Dad (Lawrence) and she are in the car, and she is on her cell phone forever with their friends- it is so true to life and you would only know that if you've experienced this.

In terms of appropriateness for kids, I can't think of anything in this movie that would offend. There is silly slapstick comedy that had adults and kids alike laughing. Kids who watched Raven on her Disney channel show loved watching her act in this movie. The Donny Osmond character was over the top and, according to my 7 year old, totally hilarious.

Would I select this movie just for me? NO. But folks, if you are looking for a movie for the family to see, or something I could show a mixed age group, this is great. I could pick apart little things about the movie, but those parts of the movie I found to be silly or ridiculous were irrelevant to the kids. This movie both has a heart and is sweet in spirit. I wish more people would CONSIDER the AUDIENCE for whom the movie is intended when writing a review.