Virtual Sexuality

America, it seems, doesn't have a monopoly on shallow teen movies: this British import features the usual gorgeous twentysomethings playing teenagers, improbably well-developed breasts and abs, and the standard only-in-the-movies idea that every lonely teen has a platonic best friend of the opposite sex who'd be a perfect lover if only both of them would realize it. Not that we're talking about a realistic movie anyway: the high concept here -- Weird Science with a gender reversal -- is that 17-year-old virgin Justine (Laura Fraser, also appearing in TNT's A Christmas Carol) can create her dream man with the aid of virtual reality and a freak computer accident. Further complicating matters (and really pushing the whole suspension-of-disbelief thing) is the fact that the newly created perfect man (Rupert Penry-Jones) has all of Justine's memories, and seems to actually be her, until it transpires that Justine is still in her own body and conveniently doesn't remember creating Perfect Man, so she starts to pursue him romantically. Not being a total narcissist, Perfect Man has no interest in romancing someone who is essentially the same person as himself. The movie is only occasionally irritating, and it's amusing to see 90210-style cliches acted out with British slang, but director Nick Hurran really should have checked his impulse to feature a street band whose music occasionally comments on the action. (