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Lizzie boredom

The wholesome teen charm of Disney TV star Hilary Duff isn't enough to carry this all-too-familiar Gidget Goes to Rome tale.

Perky, fresh-scrubbed and exuding a wholesome all-American charm, Hilary Duff is the stuff of every 'tween girl's dream, and the celebrity most likely to be imitated by the underage crowd. The parents of tweeners - the marketing term for kids who have outgrown the Power Puff Girls and their ilk - probably appreciate 15-year-old Duff, too. And the 'tween dudes just may find themselves with a summer crush on this pretty but down-to-earth teen with straight blond hair and pearly whites.

Duff, the actor and rising dance-pop star (I Can't Wait), shuttles her likable Lizzie McGuire from the Disney Channel to the big screen for a romantic comedy that has the cute, clumsy, nice girl baring only her bellybutton and barely getting to first base with the object of her affections.

But the sweet innocence of the title character is all there is to recommend about The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which centers on characters from Duff's television show. That, and the travelogue-style footage of Rome's most-visited tourist sites.

What a girl wants, according to screen-writing team Ed Decter and John J. Strauss (The Santa Clause 2) and TV writer Susan Estelle Jansen, is simple: Lizzie hopes to outlive the stigma of an embarrassing pratfall at her junior-high graduation, and to experience a little adventure, if not romance, during a class trip to Italy.

Naturally, Lizzie gets what she wants, or at least what she needs, but not before overcoming a few obstacles. Did we mention that she learns a few life lessons along the way?

Summer school for Lizzie and her classmates, including best friend Gordo (Adam Lamberg), arrogant rival Kate (Ashlie Brillault) and spaghetti-loving surfer Ethan (Clayton Snyder) means a two-week, 31-landmark visit to Rome, the same place another starry-eyed teen, Gidget, visited four decades ago.

Maintaining strict control over the kids is high-school administrator Miss Ungermeyer, a barking disciplinarian played by Alex Borstein (Mad TV) as if she were channeling a mix of Janeane Garofalo, John Candy - cutting sarcasm followed by nervous little laugh - and Neidermeyer from Animal House.

The character, more grating than funny, threatens to stand in the way of Lizzie's budding relationship with handsome Paolo (Yani Gellman), an Italian pop star with a singing partner, Isabella (Duff), who's a dead ringer for his ardent American admirer. "I need to grow as an artist, you know?" he tells Lizzie, explaining his desire to go solo. Her response: "Yeah."

Director Jim Fall relies on an absurd late plot development to push the story to its conclusion at an international music-video awards show. A betrayal is revealed, and punished; Lizzie is reunited with her parents (Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine) and annoying little brother (Jake Thomas); true love blossoms and fireworks light up the night sky. Our accidental heroine, too, gets a taste of pop stardom. Think she likes it?

Grade: C+

Director: Jim Fall

Cast: Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine, Jake Thomas, Ashlie Brillault, Clayton Snyder, Alex Borstein, Yani Gellman, Brendan Kelly

Screenplay: Susan Estelle Jansen, Ed Decter and John J. Strauss

Rating: PG; nothing objectionable, although the youngest children might be bored

Running time: 90 minutes