Disney alumnus Zac Efron has reunited with 17 Again director Burr Steers in the film version of Ben Sherwood's teen novel The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud.
Efron is the hero, a sailing prodigy bound for Stanford University. He has a bright future until a car crash - he was driving - claims the life of his younger brother Sam (Charlie Tahan). Sam's dying wish is that Charlie will practise baseball with him every day at sunset. After the funeral, Charlie finds Sam's spirit and learns they can interact.
Five years on, Charlie has 'deferred' going to university, given up sailing and taken a job as a caretaker in a cemetery. True to his word, the brothers 'meet' every evening as the sun sets.
Everyone thinks Charlie is crazy, except for Tess Carroll (Amanda Crew), a sailor with whom he starts to fall in love. In the end, Charlie faces a dilemma - does he keep his promise to Sam or go after the girl that he loves?
Unfortunately, there is little to keep the audience hooked: Charlie running off into the woods every day to 'see dead people' gets boring very quickly. Charlie St Cloud clearly counts on the popularity of Efron's squeaky-clean image and boyish looks, rather than any potential talent. Regrettably, this is neither the role nor the performance to signal his breakout from the High School Musical mould.