'The Roommate'review: Even hot co-eds can't rescue this lukewarm thriller

A college freshman becomes scarily possessive. WithLeighton Meester,Minka Kelly. Director:Christian E. Christiansen(1:33). PG-13: sexuality, violence, language. At area theaters.

If ever a thriller were to inspire a collective"eh,"it's got to be"TheRoommate."It's not a good movie, by any means, but it's also not bad enough to have fun hating on. Basically, everyone involved seems to be thinking about what other, presumably better, project they can move on to next.

Of course, that's assuming director Christian E. Christiansen and writerSonny Mallhicontinue to make movies. Judging from this effort, they don't really seem to care much one way or another.

The same could be said for lead Leighton Meester, whose appealing edge on"Gossip Girl"has been oddly blunted for her role as the psychopathic Rebecca. We know something's wrong when Rebecca refuses to party with the rest of the freshmen during orientation week at theUniversity of Los Angeles. But her naïve roommate, Sara (Minka Kelly), never seems to notice how odd Rebecca's behavior is.

Sure, their friend Tracy (Aly Michalka) quickly switches dorms after a disturbing encounter in the showers. And yeah, Sara's adorable kitten suddenly vanishes, never to be seen again. Also, it's a little strange that the sleazy teacher who's been hitting on her (Billy Zane) simply disappears one day. But Christiansen needs to pad the movie out to an hour and a half, so on we go, as Sara remains ridiculously oblivious to the fact that Rebecca will do anything to be her Very Best Friend.

Don't get your hopes up, though: the PG-13 scares are so tame that we mostly just see Rebecca pouting and plotting. The only real action comes at the very end, and is resolved so neatly we leave wondering why the filmmakers bothered in the first place.

The one element of intrigue is the physical similarity between Kelly and Meester, which initially sets up expectations for some creepy identity theft. But that fades early, as it becomes clear that there is no particular goal here: no interesting story, no unusual visual angle, no reason for the movie to exist at all, in fact--other than to get teens to pay to see gorgeous young stars looking gorgeous and star-like.

And in that regard,"The Roommate"does succeed. Kelly andCam Gigandet, who plays Sara's boyfriend, have a confident, easygoing chemistry, and though she underwhelms here, Meester is always a likable presence. But you know what? It's cold out. Movie tickets are expensive. And if you make aNetflixdouble feature out of"Gossip Girl"  and"Single White Female,"you'll get the same experience--only cheaper, warmer, and a lot more fun.

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