College Road Trip (Blu-Ray + DVD-Video/Disney)

 

Picture: B+/B-     Sound: B+/B-     Extras: B     Film: C

 

 

Oh Martin Lawrence, what happened?  You started out as an Eddie Murphy wanna be who occasionally had Will Smith to pull you through a couple blockbuster hits; now you have resorted to horrible family comedies?  Poor Martin Lawrence.  Anyhow, Disney’s newest family comedy College Road Trip is full of as many laughs as 14 people packed into a ’82 Buick Station Wagon with no AC on a 100 degree day…that means it’s not very funny.

 

The new 2008 Disney comedy stars Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone as father (Chief James Porter) and daughter (Melanie Porter) as they set out on a road trip (a college one at that) to visit George Town University for Melanie’s interview.  Melanie was suppose to tag along with some pals of hers, but due to daddy’s controlling nature and push for some bonding time, Melanie is stuck shotgun to dear old dad.  On the way they manage to pick up Donny Osmond (don’t you hate when that happens) and his daughter, the cheeriest band of do-gooders someone could ever meet.  Along the way the GPS goes wacky and the crew goes off their intended path and some crazy adventures are to be had.  There are teary eyed heartfelt speeches, a hyper active pig, slap stick comedy, unbelievable and disastrous events…wait…that is the perfect way to describe this film, unbelievably disastrous.  Whereas Martin Lawrence’s thunder is stolen by Donny Osmond most of the film, the fact of the matter remains that he was just not meant for ‘G’ rated films like College Road Trip.  Lawrence needs to get away from these family bores and get back to the gritty, dirty comedies where he belongs; or at least find something with substance.  College Road Trip is bad beginning to end and the predictability factor is off the charts.  Besides the occasional good pop-song, the film is down right bad.  I give this College Road Trip double secret probation…never to be seen again.

 

The technical features are like a trip down memory lane.  Like most Disney DVD/Blu-ray releases, College Road Trip is a solid presentation with good picture and sound, with an adequate amount of extras to keep fans happy.  The picture on the Blu-ray release is presented as a 1080p High Definition 2.40 X 1 Widescreen that has solid colors, a crisp image, great contrast, and no light/dark issues.  Overall, a great picture presentation.  The DVD 1.33 X 1 full screen and 2.35 X 1 Widescreen presentations do not standup very well next to the Blu-ray, not having the same great color and contrast pallets, but is not bad at all.  The Blu-ray sound is presented in a 5.1 uncompressed (48 kHz/24-bit) English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital.  The sound presentation is nice and crisp and exactly what you would expect from a newer comedy; all from the front with the little peripheral sounds (action noises) from the sides and back.  The sound quality really shines through when the music tracks hit the speakers, turning into a booming soundstage of some pretty quality songs.  The DVD is a simpler Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound that is not quite as crisp or clear, but still very nice.

 

The extras are the same on both the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film.  Extras include a gag reel, alternate opening and endings, deleted scenes with optional commentaries, a ‘Double Dutch Bus’ music video performed by Raven-Symone, an On the Set: Double Dutch Bus featurette, Raven’s Video Diary, and two commentaries one with director Roger Kumble and Raven-Symone and the other with writers Emi Mochizuki and Carrie Evans.  The extras are surely plentiful, but do little to add to the already lackluster film presentation.  The deleted scenes neither added nor detracted from the film and the commentaries whereas fun and upbeat, were boring and tedious after a while.

 

This reviewer can not recommend College Road Trip.  The film is boring, formulaic, and simply overflowing with predictability.  The film is meant to be a fun family romp of a movie, but instead plays as another mind numbing comedy that tests the limits of how much pig poo you can stuff in a bag before it bursts.  Just a heads up…the bag burst.  If all of this was not enough to dissuade people from seeing this film…Donny Osmond is in it.  Enough said.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II