Such is the case with Light It Up, a film about a group of students in a Queens, N.Y., high school that looks as if it were transplanted from a Middle East war zone.
In the middle of winter, there is no heat, windows are broken and classes roam from room to room seeking usable space.
Of course, there is the principal mired in bureaucracy and red tape (Glynn Turman) and the teacher with an unorthodox style and heart of gold (Judd Nelson) who fights for his students.
And, of course, there are the students a lot of movie fans have seen before. Lester (Usher Raymond), the misunderstood athlete; Stephanie (Rosario Dawson), the brain who wants to make a difference; Ziggy (Robert Ri'chard) the abused teen with a sensitive side; the gang banger (Fredo Starr) who believes violence is the best method for dealing with all of his ills.
Add to the mix Rivers (Clifton Collins), the teen con man, and Lynn (Sara Gilbert), the anti-social outcast, and every high school stereotype is represented.
What do you have when this group of stock characters is diced, sliced and cooked together?
A cliche-ridden film about a group of students who just want to be heard.
That's a pity, too, because Light It Up had the chance to showcase a group of young actors who obviously have talent but are hampered by a script that is as predictable as it is unbelievable.
A contradiction?
Not really, because the film uses those many character cliches.
Those teens all inhabit a tough inner-city school. We know it's tough because it has a genuine member of New York City's finest roaming the halls. When, on his first day, Officer Jackson (Forest Whitaker) tees off on Ziggy, he ignites a takeover by those six students.
Jackson wrestles with Ziggy and is accidentally shot. With the prospect of jail hanging over Ziggy's head, Lester acts, grabbing the gun and holding Jackson hostage. Their only recourse? Take over the school. An obvious choice for any disaffected teen-ager, of course.
The students feel dejected. No one listens to them. They're desperate. They have no plan or purpose. That is, until Stephanie realizes that for the first time in their young lives, they have a voice and they decide they must use it.
They want the school repaired. They want books. They want a career day and more. They want to be heard. Of course, there's only one way for this to end: tragically.
Is there anything to recommend Light It Up?
The performances, primarily.
Until now, Raymond was known best for his music career. Here he demonstrates that he has talent, charm and charisma to burn. Kudos should go to Dawson and Starr as well.
Gilbert is her sardonic best here, as she was during most of her run on the hit TV series Roseanne. Clifton is convincing as a hustling street tough.
Ri'chard gives the film's best performance, however. His Ziggy explores a broad range of emotions from anger to heartache.
Ultimately, those performances can't save the film from itself, because Light It Up, as a whole, rarely generates any sparks.