Class of the WB

Is Amanda Peet ready for her close-up? The toothsome star of The WB's Jack & Jill just tossed her hat into the leading-lady ring, headlining last week's urban sex comedy Whipped, which debuted outside the commercial top 10 and got hailed by Newsday as "Ugly. And unpleasant."

A misstep, then, for Peet, who last drew notice for her disarming performance in the otherwise execrable mob farce The Whole Nine Yards. But such is the cinematic fate of The WB's serial idols, who've suffered more turbulence in their collective big-screen transitions than the men of Friends combined.

Consider Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek), he of hooded eyes and chubby-cherub features, cranking out disposable romantic thrillers like Cruel Intentions, Gossip and-most heinously-The Skulls. One would think, given those many, many scenes between Pacey and Joey, that Jackson might pick the brain (or the Filofax) of co-star Katie Holmes, who made memorable appearances in a cache of well-received projects such as Doug Liman's propulsive, kinetic Go and the muted campus dramedy Wonder Boys. (Next up: The Gift, a high-profile supernatural thriller co-starring critical darlings Hilary Swank and Cate Banchett).

Holmes isn't a particularly expressive actress but she's been wily enough to fortify her repertoire with some decent projects. But poor Jackson, like James Van Der Beek (Dawson's and Varsity Blues), Leslie Bibb (Popular, The Skulls) and Julie Benz (Roswell, Jawbreaker), is far too entrenched in Seventeen-ready, wink-and-grin mode to embark on any venture of serious substance. These kids are still in cinematic high school, unable to realize that the secret to career preservation isn't any movie role, but one that expands their audience. When Felicity the Popular Vampire Slayer from Dawson's Creek in Roswell fades from the airwaves a few years down the road, these actors' current target demographic will be flocking to serious movies-like, you know, What Lies Beneath and Jerry Maguire and stuff.