Charlie St. Cloud can't steer himself away from mediocrity

Although I was quite skeptical about seeing "Charlie St. Cloud," I was surprised by the fact that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It definitely was not outstanding, though.

Upon hearing about teen heartthrob Zac Efron taking on a meaningful role, it was impossible for me not to laugh. However, after viewing this movie, I see a lot of potential in the young man. He may not have peaked yet, but he will eventually become a better actor if he continues his steady climb toward more serious roles.

Efron's acting in this movie was by far something I thought I would never see out of the young star. Through his constant inside jokes and playfulness, Charlie St. Cloud, played by Efron, showed a lot of affection toward his younger brother Sam, played by Charlie Tahan.

The plot, for those who haven't seen the millions of TV spots, revolves around a major decision for Charlie: Either dwell on the past or grab life by the horns and hook up with the smoking-hot, yet ditsy Tess.

Unfortunately, when Charlie finds his love interest, his acting seems to take a dive. Seeing that there was so much emotion based around his younger brother, it was difficult to grasp how quickly he transcends from mourning his brother to falling in love with Tess, a dimwit played by Amanda Crew. I can't explain why she's a moron without ruining the movie, but during later scenes it was difficult not to notice her absentmindedness.

 There were other problems. Considering that Charlie and Sam came from a single-parent household, Charlie had to take the father role in the family. For example, when Charlie's mom had to work an extra shift at her job as a nurse, Charlie was forced to keep Sam. I would have liked to hear a better explanation about their father's disappearance. The small amount of information given about him was not nearly enough.

Also, there is lack of scenery because the film takes place, mostly, in one of three places: the cemetery, where Charlie works five years after the death of his brother; his shack of a house, where he dwells in complete solitude until he meets Tess; and a forest, where he plays catch with his dead brother. There are a couple more places that Charlie visits in the movie, such as a bar and boat docks, but it's very rare.

Apparently, Charlie not only has a sixth sense, because he's able to see and play baseball with his dead brother, he also has a six-and-one-half sense, where he can see people who are about to die or are dying. Again, I don't want to spoil the movie, but you'll understand what I'm writing about as the film progresses.

And speaking of sixth sense, this was quite similar to the 1999 film "The Sixth Sense." This is mainly because Charlie was able to see the dead, speak with the dead and interact physically with the dead. But don't expect some huge twist ending because all the issues that would make one question why Charlie can see dead people are explained when he interacts with them, which took away any sense of suspense. 

Well, what more can be said? Zac Efron is showing a lot of potential as a serious actor and I would definitely like to see him in more films like this. However, with Tess' constant idiocy and the sheer lack of scenery, this makes for a very mediocre film. I would urge people to see it just for Efron's performance, but that is the only aspect worth viewing. Go see it before noon and pay no more than $6.

"Charlie St. Cloud" gets three stars out of five.