But on the football field, he undergoes a metamorphosis into a growling blocking machine - nick-named " Crazy" - allowing the school's quarterback-option offense to wo4rk brilliantly.

Spoiled-brat qb Archie (Allen Cutler) cant help but tease and play pranks on the only thing that keeps him from getting a concussion every Saturday. The rest of the kids in Archie's clique also taunt, their school's best player.

But lovely little Esmeralda (Emmanuelle Vaugier), who is Archie's gf (the telepic also has players with the surnames " Victor" and "Hugo" - get it?) and a French transfer student, takes a liking to Crazy and teaches him something he always wanted to learn: the piano. (Music soothes the savage beast?) of course, a romance blossoms and it screws up everything before the big game.

Suffice it to say that the climax involves a bell tower.

"Beverly Hills, 90210" is a more accurate portrayal of high sch9ol life than "Halfback." Pie's central flaw is its one-dimensional, stereotypical characters: Archie, the preening egotistical, rich (he drives a Porsche) quarterback; Crazy, too oafish to walk upright; catty cheerleaders; the overly poised, elegantly dressed and perfect Esmeralda.

No gray here.

Actual teenagers - presumably the pic's target audience- won't id with these kids and will probably mock them; a cute idea, "Halfback" in its execution loses yards for its emotional hollowness and should be penalized for lack of drama.

That said, Hogan and Vaugier deliver pleasant perfs in spite of the material given them.