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JUST WRIGHT From Frampton to 50 Cent, the silver screen has been littered with successful musicians who wrongly believe they have what it takes to make it as an acclaimed actor. Queen Latifah, of course, has long proven herself to be one of the keepers, meaning that Just Wright needed to function as the coming-out party for her co-star (and fellow rapper) Common. But his performance turns out to be merely OK, easily allowing Latifah to retain her royal standing. On par with the week's other imagination-free rom-com, Letters to Juliet, this one borrows from the Cinderella and Ugly Ducking playbooks to relate the tale of Leslie Wright (the Queen herself), a physical therapist who's used to seeing her best friend Morgan (Paula Patton) nab all the men while she's relegated to the status of the cool lady that guys like to hang out with but not date. This pattern continues when both women meet New Jersey Nets star Scott McKnight (Common), who connects with Leslie but ends up dating the gold-digging Morgan, the latter dreaming of nothing but becoming an NBA trophy wife. But after Scott suffers a potentially career-ending injury to his knee, Leslie steps up with the determination to get the hoops star back on his feet before the playoffs. This generic trifle, with a script that was obviously constructed and spit out by a computer -- hold on, my mistake; the press notes credit it to one Michael Elliot -- at least benefits from a typically ingratiating performance by Latifah. But a love story needs two sides to work -- and a love triangle, three -- and Common, until now only cast in small roles (he was last seen as a corrupt cop in Date Night), is simply unable to generate any chemistry with his co-stars: Awkward enough in the scenes in which he's not wooing the ladies, he's even more ill-at-ease opposite either Latifah or Patton. Certainly, Common possesses the demeanor and good looks of a leading man, but until he brushes up those acting chops, he won't ever be much more than just average. **
KICK-ASS Based on Mark Millar's popular comic series, Kick-Ass refers to Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a geeky teenager who loves comic books and wonders why no one has ever mimicked the caped crusaders seen battling evildoers in print. Even though he concedes that his only superpower is being "invisible to girls," Dave decides to don a slick scuba suit and mask and take to the streets to fight crime under the moniker of Kick-Ass. As long as the picture remains focused on Dave and his exploits in and out of costume, it remains a clever modern riff on the classic Marvel tale, like watching Peter Parker's travails reimagined for Napoleon Dynamite. But this is only half the movie. The rest involves the efforts of two far more accomplished superheroes, Big Daddy (a woefully miscast Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), to take down a ruthless criminal (Mark Strong). Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are the secret identities of ex-cop Damon Macready and his 11-year-old daughter Mindy, and they're both bent on revenge. Make that bloody revenge. A glaring streak of sadism proves to be Kick-Ass's undoing, as the can-do pluck and spirit exhibited in, say, Spider-Man is ignored in favor of unrelenting violence at every turn. Equally troubling is the handling of Hit-Girl, who, taught by her father, proceeds to kill scores of people by any means necessary. One character chastises Damon Macready for turning Mindy into a pint-size killer, correctly asserting that this little girl deserves a normal childhood. Yet Kick-Ass then completely ignores this line of thought, allowing Macready to steadfastly remain a good guy and never once questioning the fact that he's turned his daughter into a soulless killing machine. And those who are already celebrating Hit-Girl as the new face of female empowerment are completely missing the point that she's been brainwashed by her father (i.e. the patriarchy) into carrying out his desires. As to the controversial matter of whether the movie turns this 11-year-old girl into a sexual object of desire, I personally don't think so. But try telling that to the pedophilic fanboys who are already posting lewd comments about what they'd like to do to her underage body. **
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