I sort of like you, Beth Cooper

In a summer with stand-out blockbuster hits such as “Transformers” and over-the-top farces like “Bruno” and “The Hangover,” one film has the guts and the ambition to be …  average. That film is “I Love You, Beth Cooper.”

It is a high school comedy about Denis Cooverman, the school nerd who declares his undying love for the head cheerleader during his valedictorian commencement speech. The consequences of his pronouncement send him on a wild ride as Beth Cooper shows up at his house, followed by her Marine boyfriend. The muscle-bound moron trashes the place and throws Denis out the window before Beth rescues him. The film continues in a similar vein, detailing the wacky high jinxes of graduation night, a plot all too common in teen flicks.

The film was adapted from a book by Larry Doyle, one of the writers on “The Simpsons,” but seems to suffer without his cunning wit and farcical tone. Director Chris Columbus toes the line between realism and parody without committing to either, which tends to strain the disbelief of the audience in some of the more imaginative parts of the film.

Hayden Panetierre plays the embodiment of all high school hotness, Beth Cooper. Throughout the movie, her character develops from fantasy girl to crazy skank to a futureless has-been and back again. The other stars hold up their roles well, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see any of them on screen again.

The film was nice, and funny for the most part, but it lacked that special magic that made chronicles of awkward high school years like “Superbad” or “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”  great. Columbus fails to push the envelope, squandering the potential of what could have been an instant classic. While it was nice to see a teen comedy without a stuttering Michael Cera, a little bit of Judd Apatow would have gone a long way to save “Beth Cooper” from mediocrity.

Enjoyable, lots of fun and with plenty of laughs, “I Love You, Beth Cooper” is a welcome change from seeing the Matthew McConaughy and Sean Penns of the world score hottie after hottie in these coming-of-age flicks. Instead, we see the current trend of lovable losers and shy guys landing the ladies continue, as the biggest screen nerds yet hook up with the sexiest girls in school.

Still, all that won’t be enough to save this film from the dreaded road from mediocrity, to obscurity, to the $5 bargain bin at Blockbuster. So look for it there in a few months, and give it a try. Until then, read the book. It’s better.