|
|
Richard Kumble, College Road Trip
03/09/2008 Live action Disney comedies generally seem to follow the same formula. The overwhelming score forces us to recognize when something is meant to be goofy and when we’re supposed to cry. The characters go through hard situations but end up learning their life lessons just in time so that all is well before the film is over. The protagonist, particularly if she’s female (i.e. Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan), sings at some point during the movie, whether or not it aids in the storytelling at all. And, ironically enough, Disney comedies usually aren’t altogether funny, unless dumbed down humor is your forte. It’d be nice to say that College Road Trip breaks from this norm and does something a little different. Yeah, that’d be nice. The story follows Melanie Porter (Raven-Symone), a recent high school graduate hoping to attend college at Georgetown University. The problem is that her father, James (Martin Lawrence), is completely against the idea, and he makes it his mission to persuade his daughter to attend Northwestern, which is closer to home. The expectation going into the film was that Lawrence, as he is in virtually all of his other films, would be over-the-top here. He is, but he’s not agitating. There are a few scenes where he seems to ham it up, but he’s relatively tame compared to other characters he’s played. His devotion and care for his daughter seems genuine, though the film seems to beat us over the head with that idea (cue the gazelle and little girl videos). Additionally, Lawrence is subtle once you compare him to his co-star, Raven-Symone, whose overacting is almost unbearable at times. She hardly expresses an emotion or conveys a feeling without an arching eyebrow or a tilting head gesture. I don’t know if she does this to appeal to fans who like her style of physical comedy, or if she really thinks this constitutes good acting. Either way, she wears out her welcome relatively early on in the film, which is a bad sign, considering the plot revolves around her character. The film also utilizes a pig named Albert to distract us whenever there is a need to kill time, or just, you know, for the heck of it. If this were the first family film to utilize an animal for comedic purposes, Albert may have stolen the show. But this isn’t, and there’s nothing he does that would make you laugh out loud. Unless, of course, you think a pig that’s able to use and flush a toilet is hilarious. Or if a clearly computer-generated animal turning flips on a bed after eating caffeine beans and crashing a wedding strikes you as funny. So with all that’s wrong with the film, where exactly is the silver lining that makes it not as bad as one would expect? Well, believe it or not, the one saving grace for the film is Donny Osmond. No, really. The same Donny Osmond who has somehow become a regular contributor on Entertainment Tonight as that annoying, goofy American Idol analyst co-stars here as Doug Greenhut, an annoying, goofy dad who sporadically breaks into show tunes with his daughter (Molly Ephraim). Not a huge stretch for him I’m sure, but it works, and he keeps the otherwise textbook Disney film fresh. To call the film horrible is a little harsh. To call the film decent is too generous. Let’s just say it’s not good, but it won’t kill you. It’s a film you should go into not expecting a remarkably fresh or even coherent story line, or to think that things that happen in the movie would translate perfectly into real life. Take it for what it is: a kid’s comedy that’s mostly unfunny, territory that seems all too familiar. Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
|
Monday, March 15, 2010
Weather: , °
Weather: , °
Post a Comment
E-mail To A Friend
Join The List
Technorati Tags
College Road Trip Martin Lawrence Raven Simone Cinema Review