TV REVIEW : ‘Imagination’ an Irresistible Love Story

Jean Smart--the star who left “Designing Women” to expand as an actress--is, to her immense credit, becoming impossible to pigeonhole.

Only a month ago she was chilling as a savage serial killer in the TV movie “Overkill,” and tonight she’s a sweet, drawling, prim North Carolina schoolteacher thrust into the arms of a rock ‘n’ roll mega-star in “Just My Imagination” (at 9 p.m. on NBC, Channels 4, 36 and 39).

The movie endearingly retreads the old “Prince and the Pauper” romantic fable but gives it a beguiling twist by wedding small-town-high-school-U.S.A. to the glitz and palm trees of Beverly Hills. Jonathan Sanger’s direction employs an apt, light touch; co-executive producer Lynn Roth’s teleplay is laced with tangy moments and Tom Wopat, as the self-important rock star, is humorously suave.

But making it all go is Smart, whose demure performance as teacher Pally Thompson is a charmer. Her reticent, softly accented and vaguely preoccupied character is warmly captivating, and even in the genre of shy schoolteacher roles, there’s nothing stereotypical about her performance. Smart has become fun to watch because her recent work is so unpredictable.

What also accelerates the movie is a clever song gimmick that triggers the plot.

The rock star, the teacher’s long-ago high-school classmate and secret heartthrob, pens a lascivious rock song called “Whompin’ Pally Thompson” (music by David McHugh, lyrics by scriptwriter Roth). The shocked teacher hears the song over the radio, as does the whole nosy town, and from that moment her life is a rocket to the moon.

Adapted from the book “Bobby Rex’s Greatest Hit” by Marianne Gingher, the production also features Smart’s real-life husband, Richard Gilliland, as her down-home gentleman suitor.

Taking a break from TV movies adapted from real-life trauma, this is NBC’s second straight romantic comedy, following last week’s “Love Can Be Murder,” which was also a fable. If this signals a pattern, it’s a welcome one.