We all remember that high school's a bitch. So is being a teenager and living up to your parents' expectations and staying true to your nerd friends while trying to fit in with the hip, cool kids. Now, SKY HIGH comes along and tells us that having superhero parents doesn't help; it only makes things worse.

Young Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) has a problem: his parents are a famous crime-fight team known as the Commander and Jetstream, yet Will has yet to show any signs of inheriting either of their superpowers (he's strong; she flies) -- a fact he keeps hidden from them, to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, in his first day at Sky High (a school for children with superpowers), Will's deficiency gets him relegated to the program for "sidekicks" instead of superheroes -- the ultimate humiliation for someone with his parents. Will he ever develop his own powers and make it as a superhero? Will the sidekicks prove they are not just second-class citizens? And will he realize that the girl-next-door is not just his best friend but also his high school sweetheart?

The nice thing about this film is that it is not really a spoof of comic book-type characters. Instead, it is essentially a family comedy that deals with experiences everyone in the audience can relate to; it's like real life with a twist that exaggerates everything into comic dimensions. Will's parents don't just expect him to follow in the family footsteps; they expect him to save the world. He doesn't just face a bully at school; he has an archenemy. He's not just an under-achiever; he is -- horror of horrors! -- a sidekick (which makes him the equivalent of a geek in this comic book world).

The story is amusing as long as it sticks to high school life. Angarano's character has to worry about when -- or even if -- his own superpowers will develop; a late-bloomer, he's like a boy who hasn't undergone the changes of puberty yet -- a horribly embarrassing fate when everyone else around you seems so "super." As if the ugly duckling story were not enough, the plot also works in secondary motif about the unfairness of categorizing kids into winners and losers (i.e., superheroes and sidekicks) that also evokes real-life concerns in an amusing way.

The movie is less sure-footed when it heads into comic book territory. Especially, the scenes dealing with the film's supervillain fall flat. They're not wickedly over-the-top, and they're not particularly funny; they're just there, because they have to be.

The action sequences seldom match the level of the dialogue and characterization. There is a brief but fantastic early scene of the Commander and Jetstream taking out a Kong-size robot downtown; it's good enough to be in a serious film but light-hearted enough to fit in a comedy. Unfortunately, except for a duel between Will and a surly high school kid, the rest of the action sequences fail to walk this fine line. The special effects are weak (perhaps we're supposed to think they look funny), as are the stuntwork and fight choreography. In these scenes, the film feels a bit like a Disney after-school special that wandered onto the big screen by mistake; it just doesn't have the production values and excitiment that would make it come alive as a comic book action fantasy.

This is especially evident in the climax, which feels strained and not too funny. Part of the problem is that, unlike THE INCREDIBLES, SKY HIGH doesn't have the sophistication to mix real thrills with comedy. As fun as it is, it is ultimately a kids' movie in which nothing really dangerous happens (the supervillains' plot is notably non-lethal and not particularly ingenious: shrinking victims into babies). Without genuine thrills, these scenes feel like obligatory filler.

Perhaps SKY HIGH would have been more at home on the small screen (it was originally conceived, years ago, as a pilot for a television show). Nevertheless, the writing and performances are all appealing: stars Russell and Preston are ideal as the happy superhero couple; Bruce Campbell is wonderfully over-the-top in a supporting role (Sky High's equivalent of a gym teacher); Cloris Leachman is great in a bit; and all the kids are charming. As long as SKY HIGH focuses on these strengths, it more than lives up to its potential as a comedy. It may not match THE INCREDIBLES, but it is far more fun (and far less childish) than FANTASTIC FOUR.