What makes “Not Another Teen Movie” work so well is not just that Gallen nails all of the characters. (And he does: viewers are treated to the pretty “ugly” girl who is a knockout but no one knows it until the end when she removes her tortoise-shell glasses [Chyler Leigh], the popular but not too bright jock [Chris Evans], the nasty cheerleader [Jamie Pressly spoofing herself], the three desperate dorks who are trying to lose their virginity [Samm Levine, Cody McMains, and Sam Huntington], and the token African-American [Deon Richmond].) He even gets the little things dead on, mocking everything from to the slow-motion entrance of the girl of everyone’s dreams (Lacy Chabet doing a dead-on impersonation of fellow former “Party Of Five” star Jennifer Love Hewitt) to the cliched feel-good finale which begins with one person slowly clapping before everyone joins in.

Gallen also tips his hat to yesteryear with a must-have soundtrack full of new bands performing ‘80s teen hits and movie anthems like “99 Red Balloons,” “I Melt With You,” ‘If You Leave” and “Somebody’s Baby.” It’s also fun to watch Paul Gleason, the sadistic teacher in “The Breakfast Club,” reprise his role here at the aptly named John Hughes High School. Hughes’ favorite actress, Molly Ringwald, has fun playing herself in a cameo at the end.

Most of the “name” critics hated “Not Another Teen Movie” because it would mean acknowledging that they had some respect for the teen flick genre in the first place. If, however, the Zucker Brothers or Jim Abrahams (of “Airplane” and “Hot Shots!” fame) were directing this film instead of novice Joel Gallen, the pundits would have been fawning with praise. That’s Hollywood politics for you, and nothing is going to change.