Peepaboo (2008)

The opening scenes of Just Looking, directed by actor Jason Alexander, could just as easily be titled The Young George Costanza Story. Set during the postwar, pre-Portnoy sexual vacuum of the 1950s, the comedy follows a chunky Bronx adolescent named Lenny Levine (Ryan Merriman) as he obsessively tries to peep on grown-ups during ''the act of love.'' It seems proof positive that you can take the man out of Seinfeld but not Seinfeld out of the man: You half expect a 13-year-old Kramer to fall out of a tree.

Luckily, Just Looking moves out of Porky's territory and into more affecting (if equally predictable) coming-of-age turf when Lenny is shipped off to his aunt and uncle in the country (i.e., Queens) for the summer. There he meets a neighborhood tootsie (the once-overhyped Gretchen Mol, giving a winsome, small-scale performance that feels like a fresh start) who ultimately imbues him with a deeper understanding of human frailties. There's no mistaking the film for anything but a busman's holiday -- the pacing is lumpy, the acting's all over the map, the climax features the chintziest lightning storm this side of The Bride of Frankenstein -- but Alexander pulls off enough Challah-mark moments to hint that someday he may be master of this domain. C+

-- Ty Burr

[BOX]

Just Looking STARRING Ryan Merriman Gretchen Mol SONY PICTURES CLASSICS RATED R 97 MINUTES

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