March 26, 1999
Web posted at: 1:45 p.m. EST (1845 GMT)

By Reviewer Paul Clinton

(CNN) -- For baby boomers, the characters in the original "Mod Squad" -- an Aaron Spelling production that aired on television from 1968 through 1972 -- are indelibly etched into the fabric of that time period. Now Spelling is trying to introduce a new generation to that same concept, '90s style, this time on the big screen.

So here comes "The Mod Squad," starring Claire Danes, as Julie, Giovanni Ribisi as Pete and Omar Epps as Link.

Here's the deal: I didn't like "The Mod Squad" when it aired on TV, and I had low expectations for the film adaptation. I think the only reason the television version survived as long as it did was because back then, we had only three choices on the dial. Yes, dial, not remote.

Anyway, the only thing that kept me going on the way to the theater was the mantra "Claire Danes is a good actress, Claire Danes is a good actress," chanted over and over again.

That said, here's the plot in a nutshell, which is basically where it belongs. We have three kids, one African-American played by Epps, one rich white kid played by Ribisi, and one street-raised blonde, played by Danes.

They're on the way to the slammer when a cop (Dennis Farina) rescues them and turns them into undercover cops -- sort of. They have no badges, no guns. Yep, it's the same dumb plot as the TV show, just no bell bottoms, Afros, or love beads.

Suddenly the plot goes left, I went right, and the people behind me went straight ahead. We were all lost.

After wandering around forever like Moses in the desert, the story finally begins to gell again, and now it seems there is something about drugs being stolen from an evidence locker, crooked cops, and somehow a former drug addict, played woodenly by Josh Brolin, gets involved.

This isn't a horrible film. It's just no good. However, I'm betting it may do OK with its teen-age target audience. Director and co-writer Scott Silver has a wonderful visual sensibility and a good feel for pacing.

His 1996 debut film, "johns" (about two male hookers in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve), was bitter and bleak, but very well done. Silver is a graduate of the American Film Institute, and so are many of the other people behind the camera with him, so this guy has filmmaking qualifications out the wazoo. I just wish his narrative made more sense.

Danes is as good as she can be with this material. Newcomer Epps has little to do, and Ribisi's character is unbelievably annoying. Ribisi recently played a mentally challenged man in the movie "The Other Sister" co-starring Juliet Lewis. I think he was still in character for that film when he turned up for this one.

In its defense, the movie does make fun of itself and its genre at times. At one point Ribisi says, "This is one of those dirty cop, drug things. They really happen? Jeezz." Yep, jeezz.

But the worst thing about the movie is the music by B.C. Smith. The soundtrack is an eclectic, seemingly random collection of sounds blasting away while numerous montages geared to make us relate to the characters (yeah right) play on the screen.

All this music accomplished was to scream, "Look at this scene!! Here it comes!"

There oughta be a huge cemetery out here in Hollywood in which one could find the graves of old TV shows that were turned into films. "McHale's Navy," "Leave it to Beaver," "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Lost in Space" are just a few that are pushing up daisies at video stores around the country.

Well, dig another hole for "The Mod Squad," and leave some room for the upcoming movie "Family Affair."