How Zach Braff first managed to weasel his fish-lipped mug up to the frontlines of indie film and television is a mystery. But how he now practically owns the scene is nothing short of an outrage – adolescent girls everywhere have fallen for the flat, pathetically stale excuse for comedy that is his wildly popular show, “”Scrubs,”” not much better than the equally popular cliche heap of “”Garden State.”” And the first 25 minutes or so of his latest, “”The Last Kiss,”” might have been pried from the lifeless jaws of the latter: A homely guy (Braff), slightly disillusioned with life, meets a peppy, artsy girl (Rachel Bilson, “”The OC””) who tries to change his life. At the very least, Bilson probably owes Natalie Portman some royalties.

The greatest shame is that parts of “”The Last Kiss”” aren’t all that bad – most likely due to the fact that Braff stayed away from the script and production this time around. Lauren Lee Smith and Casey Affleck turn in credible performances as overstressed newlyweds whose marriage is slowly being pulled apart by their first child, and Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner steal the show as a bickering middle-aged couple struggling with unhappiness and infidelity after 30 years of marriage.

But the main storyline, alas, is tainted by Braff’s face, which, more often than not, begs a good nosebleed. Some inauthentic dialogue and an even less-believable plot seal the deal. (However, if there are any fabulously hot girls out there who will inexplicably jump into bed with a slightly boring, slightly ugly guy at least five years their senior, feel free to drop your phone number in the box marked “”Opinion Editor.””)