The Good Student

Kevin Spacey co-produced this DVD premiere, which has traces of American Beauty and prominently features Heroes star Hayden Panettiere. She plays a high school cheerleader who serves as a less-than-obscure object of desire for a dorky history teacher (Tim Daly). He becomes the prime suspect when she is suddenly abducted from her house one afternoon. The film’s light, comic tone is sporadically darkened by dramatic twists. Director David Ostry and screenwriter Adam Targum attempt to add nuance to their characters—and presumably play with the audience’s perception of them—but they are so hastily introduced that they come off as contrived.

Shelf Talk: Daly currently stars in the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice, and he is well-remembered from the long-running sitcom Wings. But Panettiere is the draw, as the packaging features her in a cheerleading outfit, an echo of her role on Heroes. Her ubiquitous presence in magazines and on gossip blogs will spur interest in The Good Student.