Not long after Glee became a sensation, the show's out and proud breakout star Chris Colfer began scoring development deals to spin his buzz and charisma into new projects. It was little more than a year ago that we first heard of Colfer's Struck By Lightning, a high school-set comedy he wrote to star in. At the time we pondered if this would be enough of a departure from Glee to display Colfer's range, but the film's first trailer—courtesy of E!--immediately assuages that concern. Colfer clearly didn't want his movie's protagonist to be Kurt 2.0. Though he's once again cast as an outcast, there's no singing, dancing or flamboyant knitwear being boasted in Struck By Lightning. Thankfully, the wicked sense of humor he's displayed on Glee is intact. The E! player is one of those obnoxious autoplayer deals, so we'll have to rely on the YouTube embed for now.



Struck By Lightning centers on Carson Phillips (Colfer), a teen with some serious journalistic aspirations. To get his college application to stand out, this social pariah runs for class president—I mean, he starts a literary magazine by blackmailing his classmates to contribute. Noteworthy cast members include Allison Janney as his mother, The Office's Angela Kinsey as an overeager guidance counselor, Modern Family's Sarah Hyland as a slut-shamed bitchy cheerleader, and Bridesmaids's Rebel Wilson as his awkward and voyeuristic Girl Friday.

Sure, there are some drawbacks in this trailer. The clichéd commentary on the conformity mentality of high school, the repeated use of the word "fornicate," the redundant restatement of the plot, and overindulgent voiceover do make for an underwhelming introduction. However, I'm hoping director Brian Dannelly has breathed the same kind of incisive wit and biting comedy into Struck By Lightning that he did to the 2004 teen comedy Saved! If so, Colfer's movie debut could provide him a career path beyond Kurt's senior year.