The Tooth Fairy - 1 1/2 smiles

When five different writers get credit for creating a script, you know something’s wrong. Too bad I didn’t realize this before I saw “The Tooth Fairy,” a truly uninspired comedy. Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, stars as Derek, a washed-up hockey player whose bad behavior gets him magically sentenced to working two weeks as a tooth fairy. And although Johnson has on-screen charisma, he seems to be trying too hard to generate laughs. What bumps this movie up a notch is Johnson’s co-stars: Julie Andrews as Lily, the tooth fairy matriarch, an uncredited Billy Crystal as Jerry, Fairyland’s gadget-provider and Stephen Merchant as Tracy, Derek’s case worker. “The Tooth Fairy,” predictable fare with a hit-you-over-the-head message that ‘Everyone needs dreams,’ is pleasant enough if you’ve got young children in tow. Otherwise, you should probably skip this one. 1/24/10