Underclassman represents one of Nick Cannon's first shots at transitioning to adult leading roles and it's quite obvious the kid is going through some growing pains.

The star, who ingratiated himself to film audiences with Drumline a few years back, presented an affable image on-screen, one easy to warm up to. But in Underclassman, he forgets that he's Nick Cannon and instead comes across as someone who's seen Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop movies one time too many. Here's hoping he at least had the good taste to skip Cop III.

Instead of allowing his natural charm and charisma to shine through, Cannon happily mimics Murphy's wiseguy cool as an undercover cop investigating a student's death at an uppity Southern California high school. It's a persona that doesn't suit him very well.

You can understand Cannon trying to change his image, but he should play to his strengths, not what he thinks they should be. And whether he likes it, Cannon projects a nice-guy image.

In Underclassman, Cannon's bike cop, Trey Stokes, longs to quit pushing pedals and jump right into detective work, much to the dismay of his mentor Capt. Victor Delgado (Cheech Marin), who feels he's not even close to being ready. This is especially the case after Trey bungles an Axel Foley-like stolen property bust that he wasn't even supposed to work.