TO THE STARS ★★★

(Cert 12, 111mins. Streaming on major platforms from Monday)

TWO likeable performances come up against a familiar plot in this handsome coming-of-age drama in small-town Oklahoma.

It’s 1960 and shy, bespectacled teenager Iris Deerborne (Kara Hayward) is having a hard time with her boozy mother (Jordana Spiro) and the kids at school.

Nicknamed “Stinky Drawers” due to a bladder problem, the poor girl is in desperate need of a friend and a makeover.

She gets both after livewire Maggie Richmond (Liana Liberato) arrives in town.

After fighting off the bullies, Maggie takes

Iris (right) under her wing, sorts her embarrassing problem and encourages her to ditch the glasses and get a perm, so she turns heads at a local dance. Secretly, Maggie knows she’s an even bigger outsider and winning round the god-fearing locals won’t be easy. The performances are excellent and production values are high. But as Maggie’s secret is easily guessed, the drama feels very underpowered.