"Class Act" starts off with some strong comic energy and throughout has flashes of the good-natured humor dished up by the rap duo Kid 'N Play (Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin) in "House Party" and "House Party II." The film is at its best when that humor and charm is delivered by the leads, particularly Kid, who has some real comic talent.

Their act is something on the level of a modern-day Martin & Lewis, with Play playing it relatively straight to lanky Kid's mugging, goofball antics. And they get plenty of mileage from a standard teen variation on, of all things, "The Prince and the Pauper."

Kid is Duncan, a genius about to enter his last year of high school. His parents have moved into a new neighborhood so they can place their geeky, 4.0 son in a school that doesn't much care how he scores in physical education.

Meanwhile, street-hood Blade (Play) is being released from juvenile detention, with the provision that he start passing his high school classes.

Naturally, they find themselves in the same school.

On the first day, Duncan and Blade's records are accidentally switched. Duncan tries to explain the situation to the principal, but Blade likes the idea and uses his muscle to convince Duncan to go along with this case of mistaken identity. (Kid even allows his trademark huge hair to be cut down to dreadlocks early on.)

Most of the laughter here is derived from Duncan's feeble attempts to act tough and Blade's equally inept efforts at being a genius.

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There are a few forays into surrealistic, "Naked Gun"-style, off-the-wall comedy, some of which works, some of which falls flat. And flashy cameo visits by Rhea Perlman (TV's "Cheers") and MTV veejay Pauly Shore (who is one of the stars of the current "Encino Man"), but both are pretty feeble. (Shore manages to be more obnoxious in his two brief scenes here than he was in all of "Encino Man.")

The biggest laughs come when Kid 'N Play are simply allowed to do their thing. And fortunately, that's pretty often.

As with the "House Party" movies, the innocence of the proceedings here (which includes a rather heavy-handed anti-drug message) is marred by too many vulgar sexual gags. And in this case, the attempts at comic violence are also overdone.

Still, "Class Act" provides some laughs, and suggests that with a stronger script, Kid 'N Play could deliver a real comic gem sometime down the road.

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