Undiscovered (PG-13, 2005)

It's love at first sight when musician Luke Falcon (Steven Strait) and aspiring model Brier (Pell James) meet briefly on the subway. But they go their separate ways -- she to pursue modeling and he to the West coast. When Brier turns her attention to acting and moves to LA, she ends up meeting Luke again. She and her best friend, Clea (Ashlee Simpson), decide to help Luke's music career.

UNDISCOVERED is a small, often incoherent saga of aspiring young artists in L.A. While the camera cannot stay still (maybe recalling director Meiert Avis' music video roots, maybe just affecting "art"), the plot can't get going. The romance pokes along by way of deception, selfishness, revenge, and disappointment. Brier and Clea, with the help of Carrie and a faux-Brazilian model named Josie (Shannyn Sossamon), connive to make Luke seem popular.

Luke falls into the rock star mode pretty easily for someone who's supposed to be all into his independence and integrity. (Then again, he's hardly "about" the music; his mostly black band is reduced to background, one member speaking once: "One, two, three.") Brier despises the effects of celebrity, so her decision to send her true love forth on this path seems odd; as she watches him turn famous, she's partly drawn to him and partly repulsed. He's her very own Frankenstein monster, drinking and having sex with Josie because he feels rejected by Brier. In turn, she blames Luke for being weak.