Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen

This is a junior version of Sex And The City, without the sex or the city. It's the diluted, teen-friendly alternative and, quite frankly, it doesn't work.

Lola (Lindsay Lohan) is a mini Carrie Bradshaw. She's a native New Yoiker and has the attitude to prove it. But Lola has just had her teenage world turned upside down after her mom's decision to up sticks from the big city and relocate in an achingly uncool New Jersey suburb.

Lola sticks out like a sore thumb at her new school in Dellwood. She's got the crazy, quirky fashion sense of any self-respecting New York fashion follower and we suspect she'd be capable of having a tantrum if she couldn't find the right pair of shoes to match her latest boho-chic ensemble.

When a classmate asks her if she's not embarrassed at all the attention she's drawing to herself in her floaty white cheesecloth and lace combo, she shrugs and replies smugly, "Maybe I like the attention."

In fact, she's desperate to get maximum exposure and sets her sights on the lead role in the school play. That means going head to head with little Miss Popular, Carla Santini (Megan Fox), a confident brunette with a trio of wannabes constantly riding her coat-tails.

In the run-up to the school play, which is the film's disappointing climax, there are assorted fashion emergencies, a few stroppy incidents with nagging parents and an obligatory dance-off between the two female rivals.

The plot is humdrum, the jokes barely raise a smile and the scenarios are ridiculous, even if you're still young enough to pay half fare on the bus. The action, one suspects, is supposed to reflect the everyday dramas in a teenage girl's life, but the "comic episodes" are tedious and half-baked at best and ridiculously overdone at worst.

Despite a terrible script, Lohan holds her own admirably and proves she has real potential for offbeat comic roles. Her self-assuredness and natural charm makes the cringe-worthy musical numbers seem almost bearable and, for a young teenager, she pulls off a red glitter mini-dress and showgirl stilettoes with illegal degrees of sassiness.

Her confidence in the musical routines harks back to her days as a real-life budding popstar when she tried, unsuccessfully, to launch a solo singing career and dated Aaron Carter, younger brother of Backstreet Boys, Nick. She definitely has rhythm and personality, if bubblegum pop is your thing, but this certainly isn't the vehicle for her teen talents, nor will it signal her arrival on the serious acting scene.