Corbin Bleu & Penelope Ann Miller

Corbin Bleu may have graduated from "High School Musical," but he stays close to his Disney Channel roots in "Free Style," a squeaky-clean sports flick about a poor kid with big dreams (and bigger hair) trying to make it in the motocross world.

The inoffensive family film, directed by genre veteran William Dear ("Harry and the Hendersons"), trades heavily on Bleu's natural appeal and the movie's belief in sportsmanship, loyalty and the fact that girls with permed hair are not to be trusted. But for all the flying dirt, the motocross scenes never take off, lacking both coherence and excitement. And that's a crippling flaw for a movie that revs its engines for a good half of its 94-minute running time.

Bleu's character, Cale, lives with his single mom (Penelope Ann Miller) and little sister (Madison Pettis) in a Washington town. The racial difference between Bleu and Miller is vaguely addressed when little sis, tired of being teased about her appearance, asks, "Are we white or black?" Cale's response: "We're whack!"

The movie revels in that kind of good-natured, sitcom-style corniness as Cale struggles to overcome his humble roots and meager bank account to win a spot on a professional motocross racing team. Along the way, Cale encounters enough obstacles and calamities to make him kin to the long-suffering academic in "A Serious Man."

But unlike the Coens' hero, there's never any doubt about Cale's destiny. Problem is, the silly way he arrives there in the movie's take on the Big Game might fill you with a different type of existential despair.

 

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MPAA rating: PG (for language, some sensuality and thematic material).

Running time: 1:34.

Starring: Corbin Bleu (Cale); Penelope Ann Miller (Jeannette); Madison Pettis (Bailey).

Directed by William Dear; produced by Michael Emanuel, Rob Cowan and John Laing. A Samuel Goldwyn Films release.

 

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