Films about people trying to make it big in show-biz usually fascinate me. I loved every version of A Star Is Born ever made, but especially the one starring Judy Garland. So, naturally, I looked forward to seeing Undiscovered, a movie about a young musician struggling to be noticed in the big city of Los Angeles. And, because of newcomer Steven Strait’s fine supporting work as Warren Peace in Sky High, I was eager to see him in a leading role.

This guy appears to have it all -- looks, talent, charisma -- and a smile to die for. But just like the character he plays in Undiscovered, his trip to stardom may crash. The reason? He’s stuck in a movie so bad it makes The Perfect Man seem Shakespearean in comparison. It would be a shame if such a disaster happened to Strait. He reminds me of a young Marlon Brando -- plus he can sing with emotional as well as physical power. And his character emerges as the only continuously watchable one here. 

Undiscovered manages to contain every romantic cliché in the book: meeting cute; being separated; the let’s-be-friends-not-lovers phase; falling in love anyway; breaking up; and finally, getting together in a crowd-pleasing clinch at the end. Why doesn’t this tried-and-true approach work here? Too much talking about everything, a less than convincing performance by lovely leading lady Pell James (Uptown Girls), and jerky camera movements that make it difficult to get involved with what’s happening on screen. A similar romantic story played out much better in A Lot Like Love, which was released earlier this year and is now available on DVD.

Supporting cast members Kip Pardue (Imaginary Heroes), Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale), and Carrie Fisher (Star Wars) have all been better in other films. I had trouble accepting Pardue as Strait’s concerned brother; Sossamon adopts a sexy but hard-to-understand Brazilian accent; and the usually wonderful Fisher comes across as a bit too blasé for her modern fairy godmother-type role.         

Although some of the musical sequences liven up the movie, they're few and far between. However, I'm  pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Ashlee Simpson’s last vocal number. She plays a good friend to the leading couple who ultimately shows what she can do on stage by singing the film's title song.

While exploring the fleeting nature of fame, Undiscovered makes a good point about the value of creativity over celebrity status. “Creativity is passion and it’s endless,” says Peter Weller’s (The Order) wise character to a musician who really wants to write songs, not perform them.

Here's hoping Steven Strait gets the chance to display his creativity and passion in many future movies.

(Released by Lions Gate Films and rated “PG-13” for sexual material including dialogue, partial nudity, language and drug content.)