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A film that has been wrapped and on the shelf for three years now, New Best Friend is the latest title for the movie formerly known as Depraved Indifference, then Mary Jane's Last Dance.

The cast is largely made up of a group of unknowns, unless you happen to watch a lot of teen-themed television shows. The biggest name is Taye Diggs (Go, How Stella Got Her Groove Back), but the recognition quotient drops off pretty severely from there. Meredith Monroe is a former member of the Dawson's Creek cast, and Scott Bairstow appeared on Party of Five. Mia Kirshner did have a recent appearance as The Cruelest Girl in December's Not Another Teen movie, but I'm guessing she's only recognizable in a "Hey, it's that girl!" kind of way, since she plays the plain wallflower in this upcoming release.

Directed by Zoe Clarke-Williams (Men) and penned by first-time screenwriter Victoria Strouse, New Best Friend follows four young women as they prepare themselves for the final semester of their senior year at hoity-toity Colby University. Alicia Glazer (Kirshner) is plain and poor, sharing a crappy apartment located over a tavern with her mother. She is paired to work with spoiled daddy's girl Hadley (Monroe) for a sociology project entitled "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way." Though she is rejected at first, Alicia is soon accepted into Hadley's little society of friends, where she has access to a world full of privilege and dangerous thrills. Ultimately, her attempts to become part of the in-crowd land her in the hospital.

Diggs plays the sheriff who investigates the affluent young women who "befriend" Alicia. The girls soon discover that affluence does not make them untouchable when it comes to their responsibility for the events that transpired.

To TriStar's credit, a glimpse at the Web site seems to indicate that they are not taking this film too seriously. Currently, visitors to the site can submit their stories about psycho ex-friends and listen to stories about other whack-jobs as well. It's probably a good thing the distributor does have a sense of humor, because unless they do some fabulous marketing, I wouldn't count on New Best Friend being anything even vaguely special at the box office. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for New Best Friend Main Cast Mia Kirshner, Meredith Monroe, Dominique Swain Supporting Cast Scott Bairstow, Rachel True, Taye Diggs Director Zoe Clarke-Williams Screenwriter Victoria Strouse Distributor Sony/Columbia Trailer Click Here for Trailer Rating R Running Time 91 minutes Screen Count 100 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

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