Starring Hilary Duff, Oliver James, John Corbett, and David Keith. Rated general.

Could Hilary Duff be any more squeaky-clean? At a time when prefabbed pop princesses like Britney and Christina are determined to reveal their inner whores, the Barbie doll--cute Disney alumna is hell-bent on keeping herself wholesome. In Raise Your Voice, the former star of the Mouse House's Lizzie McGuire comes on like the daughter every father should be so lucky to have. She sings in the church choir, works in an old-folks home, and gets genuinely excited about Christian rockers Three Days Grace. Heck, she's so driven-snow pure that when a new boyfriend leans in for his first kiss, she pushes him away with "I'm not ready yet."

All that is a tip-off that Raise Your Voice is about as edgeless as a Christian-TV after-school special, which doesn't necessarily make it unlikable. On the contrary, there's something oddly endearing about the flick, which rises above its flaws on the strength of some plucky performances from a game young cast. Writer Sam Schreiber deserves credit as well: just when you think you've seen it all before on reruns of Fame, he throws in a curveball or two that almost makes up for all the clichés he's happily embraced.

Aimed squarely at the tween market, Raise Your Voice casts Duff as Terri Fletcher, a young singer whose dreams of escaping Buttnugget, USA (aka Flagstaff, Arizona) become real when she's accepted into one of America's most prestigious music schools. Standing in the way of our perpetually pert hero's first step toward American Idol is her flaming asshole of a father (a dour-beyond-the-call-of-duty David Keith), who is convinced that Los Angeles combines the worst of Soddom and Gomorrah. But before you can say "welcome to the jungle", Terri has concocted a sneaky plan that lands her in the City of Angels. Making one wonder if it is actually located on Mars, the school is the kind of place where goths, punks, hip-hop heads, and bleached-blond pop tarts break into spontaneous, feel-good schoolyard jams.

The lip-glossed Duff, who appears to own stock in Crest Whitestrips, is the undisputed star of Raise Your Voice. But with her being given little to do but look cute and deliver laughable sermons on the evils of alcohol, it's the supporting cast that makes the film watchable. Most pitch-perfect among the assorted freaks and geeks is John Corbett, whose hippie music-teacher character, Mr. Torvald, is part Chris Robinson of Black Crowes and part Jeff Bridges as seen in The Big Lebowski. He seems genuinely convinced that music is a beautiful gift sent from the heavens.

It all ends with the inevitable talent contest. The showdown actually hits all the right notes, with a finale that comes across as surprisingly fresh. Admittedly, it's not as much fun as a night with the dirty little birdie known as Christina Aguilera, but as wholesome entertainment goes, it beats reruns of Newlyweds.