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Take an overprotective father and his soon-to-be-collegian daughter looking forward to life on her own, stick them in a car for a few days, let them talk about "deep, deep, DEEP" things, and see if they can grow in the process. Not a bad idea for a movie, but it's not College Road Trip. Well, the father and daughter in the car are the basis of the movie, but there is nothing deep or any real growth to be found here. But there is a pig.

The basic premise of a father learning to let go of his daughter as she becomes an adult is worthy of exploration. It would have been nice if we actually got to see that in this story. It happens a little, but it's really hard to buy into. James Porter is the chief of police in a Chicago suburb. It's his plan that his daughter Melanie will go to Northwestern (he can get there in 28 minutes if he needs to). Melanie, on the other hand, is okay with Northwestern, but really wants to go to Georgetown, where she is wait-listed. When she gets an interview at Georgetown, she plans on a trip with friends who are going to Pittsburgh, and from there she'll go down to D.C. But her father steps in and volunteers to drive so he can be in control of the situation. Theoretically, some important conversations can take place as well as the potential for humorous situations to develop along the way.

But if you want kids to come to the movie, all this wouldn't be very enjoyable. So let's add a pig. Melanie's younger brother stows away with his pet pig on the trip. Seem a bit contrived? Everything about this story is contrived. They get lost, wreck the police car they're driving, literally crash a wedding, hitch a ride on a Japanese tour bus, and meet another father/daughter pair who always smile and sing show tunes.

I know it's not fair to judge a film by what it is not. I don't expect College Road Trip to be a gut-wrenching drama. But I don't think it even lives up to what it is designed to be: a family comedy. Like I said, the general premise isn't something that will bring in children. So they contrive a child friendly subplot (the pig) so they can market the film to children as well.

But it's not really a family comedy; it's a collection of plots that might make decent films (some family films) if expanded, but none really are. (The film comes in at about 85 minutes, so extraneous material like the pig really eats up time for development.) The comedy aspect never really works either, since the situations (even those without the pig) are so contrived that you see the punch lines coming long before they're delivered.

Although the film focuses on a happy family and a loving father, it really is not a model family. There are actually three sets of fathers and daughters in the film: the Porters, the singing father and daughter, and the father of the bride at the wedding the Porters find themselves in the middle of. All three of the fathers are buffoons. They may be into control like James, or into being a pal like Doug (the singer), or into money like the father of the bride, but each has his own foolishness that is front and center.

Road movies should bring about some sense of the gaining of wisdom—of learning how to live life in new or better ways. That wisdom (and the accompanying loss of foolishness) doesn't just happen; it grows out of a struggle along the way. College Road Trip shows us a glimpse of wisdom gained, but without a loss of foolishness. There are some struggles, but it's hard to believe that any of them would lead to any growth.