Sleepover

Of the numerous mistakes committed by the makers of "Sleepover," perhaps the biggest is the inclusion of the word "sleep" in the film's title. It practically begs audiences to slumber through the movie — which is certainly a better option than watching it.

Of course, the best option is to skip it, since this noxious alleged comedy contains few if any laughs and is so poorly edited that it appears to have been assembled by chimps working in the dark.

Worse, it could be argued that the movie treats its adolescent female characters as sexpots — not only highly inappropriate but downright creepy. That, and some other questionable material, makes the film's PG rating seem far too lenient.

"Sleepover" follows Julie (Alexa Vega, from the "Spy Kids" movies), a 14-year-old Californian with worries about her social status as she heads into high school. But she and three friends (Mika Boorem, Scout Taylor-Compton and Kallie Flynn Childress) get a chance to change that when they're challenged to compete in a scavenger hunt against the school's most popular students. The winners get to eat lunch in the school's prime spot . . . don't ask.

However, it's not an easy task, as the scavenger hunt requires the girls to vandalize store mannequins, sneak into a nightclub for adults and even swipe the underwear of Julie's dream guy (Sean Faris). Julie's also been warned to stay home by her mother (Jane Lynch), which leaves her no choice but to enlist her aimless, college-dropout brother (Sam Huntington) to cover for her.

Few if any of the jokes pay off here. First-time director Joe Nussbaum's comic timing is off, as is his pacing (the film feels like it's hours longer than it actually is). Not that his cast is any help. There's a real smugness to both Vega and Boorem's performances, while talented comedic actors Lynch, Jeff Garlin and Steve Carell may be trying to overcompensate for the sketchy material; their performances here come off as being desperately unfunny.

"Sleepover" is rated PG for crude humor and references (including some sexually suggestive moments and flatulence gags), violence (mostly slapstick), occasional use of mild profanity, and brief partial nudity (glimpses of male backsides). Running time: 89 minutes.

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com