Just Looking

Here's another cliché-riddled caper about a Jewish kid (Ryan Merriman, The Deep End of the Ocean) coming of age in 1950s New York. 14-year-old Lenny's singular mission for the summer before 9th grade is to watch two grown-ups do it. He had a scheme to watch his mom (Patti LuPone) with her new husband, but when he's packed off to his aunt and uncle's in Queens, he makes a discovery beyond his wildest dreams: the next door neighbor is a breathtakingly beautiful former model (Gretchen Mol) with an active sex life and an easy-peep bedroom window. When they become friends, however, the kid has second thoughts about invading her privacy. Directed by Jason Alexander, seemingly from some kind of do-it-yourself kit, there's a sweet spirit to the story and a respectable supply of chuckles, but Just Looking is just so hackneyed it's hard to enjoy. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Blackwelder)