We were initially confused when we first heard about How To Be, wondering if Robert Pattinson had decided to ditch his status of megastar heartthrob for edgy roles such as his rebellious character in Remember Me. RPattz fans, you can breathe again. It turns out this movie was actually made in 2007 before the first installment of the Twilight Saga even began in 2008. Take note that it is in every way an indie production - shot on a shoestring budget and in less than a month. To be honest, the only reason we can conceive of for why this film has been dug out from obscurity is to cash in on Twilight's success.

In How To Be, Robert Pattinson plays Art, a teenage aspiring musician suffering from quarter-life crisis. After losing both his girlfriend and his job as a volunteer at the local elderly care centre, he seeks refuge in self-help books and discovers self-help guru Dr. Levi Ellington's "It's Not Your Fault". Art becomes obsessed with the book and decides to dips into an inheritance fund from his uncle to invite the Canadian author to fly over for a house visit. Dr. Ellington ends up following Art around everywhere to observe him, with less than desirable consequences.

Pattinson reveals that he is not just a pretty face, showing off his ability to sing as well as play the guitar and harmonica. Unfortunately, sporting floppy blond hair is decidedly not suitable (he's no Hugh Grant) for him, to the point of being distracting. Although Pattinson puts up a remarkably earnest performance, he is undoubtedly the weakest link in the film. He is cast alongside veteran actors such as Michael Irving and Rebecca Pidgeon, who portray his emotionally distant British parents as the stern father with stiff upper lip and career-minded mother. The late Powell Jones deserves mention for his portrayal of the hilarious offbeat therapist and is responsible for drawing the loudest laughter in most of the humourous scenes.

As much as Pattinson comes through as the lovable loser, I find myself unable to truly sympathise with his constant proclamations of existentialist angst. Director Oliver Irving's greenness (this is his first film) is evident here- many scenes are dragged out for too long or seem rather pointless. The show is an unpolished gem, which (like Stephenie Meyer's vampires) sparkles on occasion. If you like quirky British comedies, then you might want to consider checking it out, but at a tad less than one and a half hours, I simply don't think it's worth the price of a ticket admission. Yes, even for diehard Rpattz fans.