Zac Efron (Creative Commons)

No doubt he has a huge fan base, mostly comprised of pre-teen girls who squeal and giggle every time he smiles.

Unfortunately, that will probably be the only demographic lining up to see his newest film, "Charlie St. Cloud."

Not even his beautiful, baby blue eyes can save Zac from such a lackluster movie.

The film is based on the novel "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud," by Ben Sherwood.

Efron plays main character, Charlie St. Cloud, a young man overcome by grief after the death of his younger brother, Sam (Charlie Tahan).

In the movie, Charlie struggles with letting go and moving on, deferring his full ride to Stanford to stay at home and work at the cemetery in which his brother is buried.

Efron exerts painstaking effort into drawing the audience in to feel Charlie's pain, but the brooding close-ups (that lasted uncomfortably long) and endless scenes of breakdowns made his character much less convincing.

The scenes with Charlie playing catch with his dead brother are almost heartfelt, but are ruined by scripted one liners that leaves the audience tearing up...with laughter.

The romance that develops between Charlie and former classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) allows Charlie to begin to move on, but his reluctance to let go of the guilt of his brother's death causes a strain in their newfound relationship.

The story seems almost too predictable for a majority of the film. The only plot twist that adds a slight element of interest is Charlie's ability to "see" dead people, as a result of his almost crossing to the other side.

The development toward the end definitely catches the audience off guard, and I don't want to spoil it here. But even with an unexpected ending, it was not enough for me to give this movie a good rating.

The verdict: Very disappointing. I thought "Charlie St. Cloud" could have been Efron's chance to show audiences he can do more than Disney musicals. However, his efforts are clouded by terribly scripted lines and a fairly predictably storyline. Save your money and go see something else next time you're at the theater.

Rating: 2/5

"Charlie St. Cloud" comes to theatres July 30. To see the trailer, click here.

To reach reporter Amanda Tran, click here.