Sleepover

Anyone who’s ever seen a teen movie knows the most important thing in a young kid’s life is popularity. This is never more crucial, of course, than in high school, so as Julie (Alexa Vega in ‘Spy Kids’) and friends prepare for their freshman year, they’re delighted to accept a scavenger hunt challenge from the cool girls. The prize? A place at the popular lunch spot for the whole of school (swoon). Sneaking out of Julie’s house during a sleepover, they swipe a variety of prizes (boys’ boxer shorts, etc) in an attempt to reach their hallowed goal. The real challenge, though, is on the audience, who must hunt to find value in this insipid offering. Comedy is in short supply (a hapless security guard stumbles after the 14-year-old girls) and romance is fleeting. Attempts at meaning are confined to teenage sage Hannah’s hackneyed pearls of wisdom: this doesn’t even attempt to denounce popularity in favour of humanity as its predecessors have. Parents, at least, would be well advised to sleep over the course of this one.