Somebody at MTV must be jealous. How else to explain "The American Mall" (9 p.m. Monday, MTV), an inferior, cliché-by-cliché knock off of "High School Musical" from one of the "HSM" producers?

MTV is supposed to be Music Television, but in the past three years, Disney Channel has been the true source of pop music adoration for tweens and younger teens, thanks to "High School Musical," "Hannah Montana" and The Jonas Bros.

Now MTV wants its share of the love, so it's rolling out its own TV movie musical, moving the location from a high school to a mall but retaining all the character types and using a similar paint-by-numbers plot. Heck, "The American Mall" was even filmed in Utah, which is where, you guessed it, the "HSM" flicks were shot.

Regardless, some teens who pine for this sort of musical pabulum will love it anyway. It's innocuous fluff. Yes, the leads share a kiss, but even mild profanities get replaced with "Whoo!" in a song at the film's conclusion.

Ally (Nina Dobrev) works in the music store her mom owns in a suburban mall, sneaking in at night with the help of friendly security guards to rehearse a song she's writing. One night a male voice begins to sing with her. The Phantom of the Mall turns out to be Joey (Rob Mayes), a stringy-haired hottie on the mall's janitorial staff. (You'll never find a more attractive cleaning crew than in "American Mall.")

Enter the mean girl: Autumn Reeser ("The O.C.") plays Sharpay, er, Madison, daughter of the mall's owner. Madison aims to open her own store in Ally's mom's music shop space. She also aims to steal Joey from Ally using a literal siren's song as bait.

Just as in "HSM," "American Mall" has its own ambiguously gay sidekick, Ben (Rodney To), who gets repeatedly humiliated, and there's also a minion for Madison, Alexa (Blythe Auffarth).

Neil Haskell, a former Point Park University student and competitor on last summer's edition of "So You Think You Can Dance," has a supporting role as one of Joey's bandmates.

What's missing from "American Mall" (out on DVD Tuesday, $19.99) is the sense of "let's put on a show" joy that's a hallmark of the "HSM" flicks. "Mall" is better than Disney's recent, lackluster "Camp Rock," but the choreography and out-of-step dancing too often disappoint. Clearly "HSM" director/choreographer Kenny Ortega has a talent that can be imitated but not duplicated.

"American Mall" also overstays its welcome. It's overstuffed with songs, proving that more doesn't necessarily make a show better.

Another question "American Mall" raises: What audience is MTV trying to lure? Most of its shows seem like destinations for older teens and young twentysomethings. But "American Mall" is too squeaky clean for "The Hills" crowd. It could easily air on Disney Channel with a few minor nips and tucks.

With "American Mall," MTV veers in an odd direction. Even when MTV seemed to be out of the music business and concentrating more on pop culture and reality shows, the channel was still seen as a trendsetter of sorts. With "American Mall," MTV allows itself to become an unimaginative follower.