Lorne Michaels and his SNL Studios have better luck with this big-screen outing of meek Catholic school girl Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon) than they did with their previous _Saturday_Night_Live_ adaptation, last fall's horrendous _A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_. That's because, unlike _Roxbury_'s head-bobbing Butabi brothers, there's more to the character of Mary than a single characteristic--there's also a lot of heart. Although director Bruce McCulloch and writer Steven Wayne Koren do offer a taste of what Mary is known for--that is, reciting movie monologues and knocking over and/or breaking stuff--what keeps the film engaging, albeit superficially, is the gentle sweetness that Shannon gives her.

But, much like an _SNL_ skit, _Superstar_ ultimately misses more than it hits. The story has Mary trying to impress her dream guy (Will Ferrell)--and earn her first kiss--by entering a school talent competition, and from this thin wisp of a story emerges a few funny and amusingly bizarre set pieces, notably a memorable scene with a tree and a couple of musical production numbers. Between those moments, however, are too many gags that don't work, namely a bunch of unfunny fantasy sequences: recurring appearances by a groovy Jesus Christ (also played by Ferrell), a strained send-up of _Armageddon_, and, most painfully, a supermodel photo shoot. Forced bits of padding such as those just show that the concept really doesn't merit more than the five minutes its allotted on Saturday nights.