From Justin to Kelly

Kelly Clarkson's fresh-faced, small-town-girl charm--the charisma that led her to win the first season of American Idol--is on full display in From Justin to Kelly, a contemporary beach-party movie co-starring her former competition, Justin Guarini. The flimsy plot--Kelly and two gal pals go to the beach for spring break, where one of her friends gets jealous of Kelly and tries to ruin her budding romance with Justin--is just an excuse for glossy pop musical numbers, in which Kelly, Justin, and the rest of the cast exercise their glossy throats with lots of white soul vocal stylings. The best musical numbers suggest a new kind of disco-fueled pop operetta, with everyone singing the story along; you may wish that Kelly and Justin sang their way through the entire movie, never speaking at all. Plenty of skin--from girls and boys--is on display, but the overall tone is squeaky clean. --Bret Fetzer