SYNOPSIS: Choosing which college to attend can be the most exciting and thrilling time of a young woman’s life…unless your overprotective father isn’t quite ready to let you go. In the Disney family comedy, COLLEGE ROAD TRIP, Melanie (RAVEN-SYMONÉ) is eagerly looking forward to her first big step towards independence when she plans a “girls only” road trip to check out prospective universities. But when her overbearing police chief father (MARTIN LAWRENCE) insists on escorting her instead, she soon finds her dream trip has turned into a hilarious nightmare adventure full of comical misfortune and turmoil.

REVIEW: No one can crank out these somewhat successful mediocre films like Disney. They are far from fantastic but just good enough to attract just enough audience to make a few bucks and then move on to the next project. This is one such case of a movie that’s not so great but not so bad either. It can please the audience to the point where they won’t think they’ve wasted their money. And of course, its Disney, the very name equates to safe, family fun, and this movie is exactly that. It’s another Disney “formula flick” (movies that follow a similar formula). Come up with a scenario, exaggerate it, hire some well-known actors/actresses, throw in some classic Disney-style humor and drama, make it look a least a little professional and you’ve got yourself a Disney formula flick. I enjoyed the film because I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and it didn’t disappoint me.

This time the scenario is the father-daughter bond and the difficulty of a father letting go of his daughter after she grows up. The key is that if you raised the child right, you should be able to trust him/her to be on their own when its time to let go. Of course with an obsessive parent like Chief James Porter (Martin Lawrence), it’s just not that simple. This is the exaggeration factor. The casting was well done. The Porter family blended well and was believable. You have the overprotective dad, Martin Lawrence, the mom, Kym Whitley, the college bound daughter, Raven Symone, and her little eccentric genius brother, Eshaya Draper. They each did a decent job with their role. Raven has one of the most expressive faces I’ve ever seen. She’s always so refreshing to watch. The young actor Eshaya, playing little brother Trey, was eye-opening. I’m telling ya, these kids. But you know what, I’ve got to admit that even the pig had about as much personality as any of the characters. And then there’s Donny Osmond. Oh boy, what a treat. His role was relatively small but what an impact. He was more than perfect for that part. You would need to see the movie and have an idea of who Donny Osmond is to really appreciate what I’m talking about.

If you are a fan of this kind of Disney film, this one will not let you down. The script is witty, appropriate, and easy to follow. You will laugh a few times and there is some physical humor as well as verbal. Martin is pretty good with the physical humor. The story is easy to follow too and it’s one that many people can relate to. The use of music in the picture is, well, for lack of a better word . . . interesting. This is definitely not one of Director Roger Kumble’s better works. It was okay and all but it could just as easily have been a made for the Disney Channel movie. I’ll forgive him though because he directed two of my personal favorites, Cruel Intentions and Just Friends. Yeah, he’ll bounce back.