'The Tollbooth': Predictable bridge-and-tunnel fare

A quirk of scheduling pits a small, ethnic family comedy, The Tollbooth, against the first waves of summer blockbusters, but this derivative first feature by writer-director Debra Kirschner would probably have difficulty grabbing attention even if it had no competition at the multiplex.

Shakti Productions 'The Tollbooth' C The verdict: A feminist artist-wannabe slings paint and clichés in this predictable ethnic comedy. Director: Debra Kirschner Starring: Marla Sokoloff, Tovah Feldshuh, Ronald Guttman, Idina Menzel, Liz Stauber, Rob McElhenney Run time: 84 minutes Release date: Feb. 6, 2006 Rating: Not rated; includes minor sexual references. See showtimes On the web Official movie site Rate 'The Tollbooth'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Better than When Do We Eat?, but a few notches below Keeping Up With the Steins, this tale of a tradition-steeped Jewish family in Brooklyn with three grown daughters is an amiable, but predictable sitcom.

Its rise above the ordinary is largely because of Marla Sokoloff (of TV's The Practice) in the central role of spunky feminist artist Sarabeth Cohen, who yearns to leave home for the cultural promised land of Manhattan.

Yes, there is a Passover seder, at which her married sister Raquel (Idina Menzel of Broadway's Wicked) wins points by announcing she is pregnant. The joy is short-lived, though, as doctor sister Becky (Liz Stauber) upstages her, losing her status as "the perfect one" by coming out as a lesbian. This proves a lot to handle for their hand-wringing mother (Tovah Feldshuh) and quote-spouting father (Ronald Gutman), who thought their biggest challenges would be Sarabeth's wanderlust and her gentile boyfriend.

Kirschner's low-budget digital video camerawork manages to capture New York well enough, suggesting she has more talent as a director than a writer.

Because, unless you have avoided the films of Woody Allen, Sex and the City and Fiddler on the Roof, chances are you have heard most of this before.