'Undiscovered' should have stayed that way

Friday, August 26, 2005

By BILL WHITE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

"Undiscovered" promotes one of the stupidest visions of the entertainment industry since "American Idol" opened the celebrity gateway to the dregs of the karaoke generation.

MOVIE REVIEW

UNDISCOVERED

DIRECTOR: Meiert Avis

CAST: Steven Strait, Pell James, Ashley Simpson, Carrie Fisher, Peter Weller

RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes

RATING: PG-13 for sexual material including dialogue, partial nudity, language

and drug content

WHERE: Alderwood 16, Everett 9, Galleria 11, Marysville Cinema 14, Meridian 16, Redmond Town Center, Renton Village, South Hill Mall, Woodinville 12

GRADE: D

LINKS/TRAILERS
· Official site

PHOTO GALLERY

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Ostensibly the story of a model and a musician who let career cliches stand in the way of romantic destiny, the movie's sole purpose is to jump-start the fledgling career of leading man Steven Strait. Lead singer of newly signed band Tribe, Strait would have a better chance at rock stardom by competing on television's INXS talent search. As Luke Falcon, he is a blank in search of someone to color him in.

Pell James is adorably vacuous as Blair, the model who has learned the hard way that rock stars are not good boyfriend material. Unfortunately, she exhibits deeper emotional ties to her cosmetics bag than to Luke. When these two ciphers finally pucker up for the big kiss, the scene has all the passion of a toothpaste commercial.

For her motion-picture debut, singer Ashlee Simpson keeps a low profile as Blair's sidekick. Even when she steps into the spotlight to sing the title song, the camera downplays her performance in favor of a rock-video recap of significant moments between Luke and Blair.

Carrie Fisher, playing Blair's matronly agent, provides some moments of professional relief from the antics of the amateur cast. And Peter Weller shows up near the end of the movie as a kind of Santa Claus to a plot in need of resolution.

"Undiscovered," the feature debut of rock video director Meiert Avis, reflects a world in which reality television has supplanted reality. The script is attributed to John Galt, the character in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" who led an intellectual strike against a world that has deified mediocrity. If a pseudonym, it is fittingly ironic.