ME AND ORSON WELLES — ★★★ — Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay; rated PG-13 (profanity, vulgarity, nude art, violence, slurs, brief sex, brief gore); Broadway Centre
Zac Efron is the supposed "draw" for the show-business comedy "Me and Orson Welles."
And make no mistake, the movie offers another credible big-screen role for the "High School Musical" star, and he acquits himself nicely.
But the real reason to see the film is British television actor Christian McKay, who plays Orson Welles. His is a nearly pitch-perfect imitation of the recognizable, multitalented actor and filmmaker, circa the late-1930s.
But it's not just a rote, one-note impersonation of Welles. McKay's blustery but believable performance is one of the more memorable supporting turns in any film this year.
As for Efron, he stars as Richard Samuels, who has lucked into the opportunity of a lifetime.
The theatrically talented teen encounters Welles and his troupe of Mercury Theatre company actors on the street. Richard's moxie impresses Welles, who offers him a small role — that of Lucius, the servant of Brutus — in the company's production of "Julius Caesar."
He receives a quick education in professional theater and is warned not to cross the sometimes testy Welles.
Richard has also become smitten with the troupe's production assistant, Sonja Jones (Claire Danes).
Director Richard Linklater ("Fast Food Nation") is smart enough to keep the tone light and to keep the whole thing moving at a brisk pace.
You do wish he and the screenwriters would have given more time to a subplot about Richard's burgeoning relationship with a would-be writer, played by Zoe Kazan. It's more convincing than the Efron-Danes pairing.
And contrast that with a few go-nowhere bits about the various behind-the-scenes squabbles. Leo Bills is irritating as the supposed comic relief of the Mercury Theatre troupe.
Still, the stars are good, and it is a fun, if slightly unoriginal, plot.
"Me and Orson Welles" is rated PG-13 and features scattered strong profanity, some suggestive talk and references (including crude slang terms), glimpses of nude paintings and statues, some violent imagery (stage violence, including stabbings), derogatory language and slurs, brief sexual contact and a brief sex scene (implied), and brief bloody imagery. Running time: 118 minutes.
e-mail: jeff@desnews.com