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Wrong-side-of-the-tracks kid Cameron (Michael Angarano) enlists alcoholic/former “Citizen Kane” assistant Flash Madden (Christopher Plummer) and the rest of Flash’s aging cohorts at a movie-industry retirement community to help with a student film. The goal: take down Cameron’s rival Brett, a wealthy punk with a Hollywood dad.

Big question: Can a veteran like Plummer help this heartfelt drama capture the thrill of moviemaking?

Catch it: Writer-director Michael Schroeder’s need to sporadically flood the screen with light is fussy and distracting, but “Man in the Chair” is surprisingly moving proof that you can take a man out of the movies but you can’t take the movies out of the man. It’s about the old-school value of making films that matter, with a splendid performance by Plummer as a guy who remembers when that philosophy felt like the norm.

Skip it: If you’re a devout Charlton Heston fan. Watching Heston in “Touch of Evil,” Flash declares, “You could never act in pants, Chuckles.” Hey, some actors just can’t be contained in constricting garments!

Bottom line: Some elements of Cameron and his video store employee pal’s film fanaticism are reminiscent of “Dawson’s Creek,” but what “Man in the Chair” occasionally lacks in originality it more than makes up for in passion. We’re reminded that movies provide an escape even if they can’t save us from everything—and it’s hard not to have a soft spot for a kid who creates a flick with an elderly crew that includes a grouchy old gaffer and a sound mixer who can barely hear a thing.

Bonus: Flash advises, “Don’t confuse activity with achievement.” Hopefully we’ll have fewer crappy comedies next year if Ben Stiller takes this to heart!

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