Ariel Lassiter
In every father’s life there comes a time when he must let his little girl leave the nest and live her own life in the world.In the newly released movie “College Road Trip,” starring Raven-Symoné and Martin Lawrence, a father-daughter relationship gets put to the ultimate test while choosing the perfect college.Raven-Symoné, who plays 17-year-old high school senior Melanie Porter, feels misunderstood by her father James Porter, played by Martin Lawrence. Melanie, an accomplished student, wants to go on a road trip across the country to Georgetown University.Being the overprotective father he is, Porter will pull out all the stops to make sure his Melanie is safe under all circumstances – so he invites himself on the originally all-girl trip.Police Chief Porter would rather Melanie go to Northwestern University than a university across the country, so to taint her view, he hires actors and actresses from the police squad to portray make Northwestern seem more appealing. Being the spunky girl Melanie is, she marked Northwestern off of her list of potential colleges.The G-rated movie is definitely a family film and very kid-friendly. Disney, which put this movie out, also added a musical number occurring when Melanie and her father end up on a tour bus filled with Japanese karaoke-loving tourists. “College Road Trip” is definitely a movie for a children’s audience. Some of the scenes in the movie were very “Disney-channelish,” especially the musical number with Melanie.It can be said that since it was a G-rated movie, the values and relationships portrayed were positive ones. It showed the importance of a father and daughter relationship and it also portrayed the importance of a college education, which may be seen as an underlying message to children. Overall, I found the movie very amusing and it kept my attention. Lawrence was excellent and he carried the movie to its full potential. Some of the characters in the movie already play in shows on the Disney Channel, which added some melodrama to the making of the movie. Although some of the parts are kind of corny, the movie was very enjoyable and ear-friendly for children.I give this movie an A+ for its ability to capture adults and children in a humorous and educational way.
