"On the Line" is a squeaky-clean romance targeted perfectly for the teen crowd. Its overly simple story - boy meets girl, boy loses girl, then boy finds girl again - is as easy to follow as the instructions on a shampoo bottle.

Lance Bass in his debut performance overdoses the audience with too much wide-eyed innocence and enthusiasm. Bass would have been better off had he played the role a bit closer to the vest. But each scene is played to the hilt with bug-eyed comic book reactions.

Emmanuelle Chriqui, as the girl of Bass’ dreams, almost single-handedly makes the film tolerable. Almost. Her performance shows depth and thought. But Chriqui isn’t on the screen nearly enough.

Adding to the film’s misfortune is Joey Fatone as Bass’ kookie best friend. ‘nuff said.

Would I recommend “On the Line” to my old film professor? - No. Would I take my 13 year-old daughter to see it? – Yes, but she has to clean her room first.

For being innocent nonsense and a good first date movie for sixteen-year olds across the country - "On the Line" gets 2 stars out of five. It's rated PG for language and crude humor.