A 'nice' against 'mean' face-off

A modest middle-school musical bursting with immodest exuberance, Standing Ovation is the story of a network music-video competition pitting the "mean girls," a quintet called the Wiggies, against the "nice girls," the Ovations.

The Wiggies are rich and self-satisfied, and play dirty. (Hiss!) The Ovations are working-class, self-doubting, and sportsmanlike. (Hurrah!)

Who are you rooting for?

Set in Atlantic City, Philadelphia, and Manhattan, the tween-targeted film from writer/director Stewart Raffill (Mannequin: On the Move) is a glittery string of backstage conventions. Backstabbing! Pushy parents! Precocious stars! Blind ambition! But if you're a tween (and don't watch Glee), the cliches will be new to you.

The cast is full of fresh-faced unknowns ready for their close-ups. Most likely to succeed is Kayla Jackson, an almond-eyed dreamer, as Brittany, anchor of the Ovations and of her family. Virtually unstoppable is Alanna Palombo, a determined moppet who insistently broadcasts her character's name and motto: "I'm Alanna Wannabe! And I'm Gonnabe!"

The original songs don't quite meet the "catchy" threshold, but the brio with which they are sung (and danced to) is tonic.