If you had told me two days ago that I would ever see this movie, I would’ve laughed and told you were crazy. Yesterday, if you had told me that I would like it, I would’ve attempted to strangle away your lies. But today I am here to tell you that a huge surprise has come across my way, and that surprise is Disney’s newest live-action movie College Road Trip. This movie is funny, engaging, and sincere, featuring two absolutely wonderful performances by its leads. It’s rare to find a movie in Spring that is winning in every way, especially one starring someone like Martin Lawrence, but College Road Trip actually works. I’m probably the last person to have expected to enjoy this film, but I absolutely loved it.

The movie stars the omnipresent actors Martin Lawrence, who just a month ago appeared in Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins, and Raven Simone, who appears to be just everywhere these days. They play James and Melanie Porter, a father-daughter duo who hit the road for a plethora of college admission interviews. Though James wants Melanie to attend a school closer to their Chicago home, she is more interested in setting her sights on Georgetown in Washington. Given that her father is possessive enough to seem unhinged – he spends a huge amount of time watching old family videos, he could be considering borderline possessive – it’s easy to understand why Melanie wants to put some miles between them.

College Road Trip was directed by Roger Kumble, who directed one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures Cruel Intentions (as well as its direct-to-video sequel and the Cameron Diaz starrer The Sweetest Thing). It took nine years but he finally made a movie that matches his first. This film is a Disney movie so one would expect it to be cloying and sentimental but the magic of College Road Trip is that it sidesteps all the expectations and turns out to be a lot more sweet and gentle than I ever thought it could be. It’s also got about fifteen big laughs, with about thirty more chuckles. There really is never a dull moment, and it would be a fun, great comedy if these were all of my praises for the film. But the film goes even further, offering a look into a father-daughter relationship that surely has never graced the screen before.

Martin Lawrence, who’s never been better, proves that he can really act and also that he can top-line a G-rated movie with literally no problem. He’s given one of his finest characters here, even better than the ones in Bad Boys and Big Momma’s House, and he infuses the father character with charm and wit. He’s an absolute hoot. In the role of his daughter, Raven Simone, who’s been looking for a big break ever since her turn on The Cosby Show, finally gets it here. This film is bound to make her a huge star, commanding at least 10 million per film. She’s been fairly annoying to me in other projects, but she’s absolutely adorable here, and again, has been never better. I look forward to see what she does next.

I’m shocked to even admit this, but I found College Road Trip to be one of the top ten films of 2008, and the first great film of the year. I hope that future Disney G-rated live-action movies can even come close to this one. Last year’s Enchanted was entertaining, yes, but it didn’t have the kind of true Disney magic that this film does. I’ve already started telling people to see the movie and to put their misguided feelings aside. I absolutely loved the humor, the performances, the sincerity, and the warmth. College Road Trip is a gem of a movie, so wonderful, so much fun, and if you’ve believed anything you’ve read in this review, I have news for you. April Fools!!!