'John Tucker Must Die' isn't quite a killer

0 Comments | USA TODAY, July, 2006 | by Claudia Puig

John Tucker Must Die **

Director: Betty Thomas

Stars: Brittany Snow, Jesse Metcalfe, Arielle Kebbel, Sophia Bush, Ashanti

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Rating: PG-13 for sexual content

Running time: 1 hour, 28 minutes

Opens today nationwide

--- John Tucker Must Die is trying to be Mean Girls with a more pointed purpose, but it's less fun than it sounds.

The antics of four scorned high school girls bent on revenge are meant to be grounded in hellish fury. But the vengeance fizzles both in intent and in cinematic execution.

Three popular babes -- the cheerleader (Ashanti), the free-spirit rebel (Sophia Bush) and the over-achieving club president (Arielle Kebbel) -- find out they're all dating the same basketball...