Brash Bette Midler strips away every aspect of her campish self to make Stella a disappointing encounter.

Midler stars as Stella Claire, an under-educated barmaid who catches worldly doctor Steven Dallas' eye. All goes well with the mismatched pair until Stella finds she's "stubbed her toe," a colloquial term for being pregnant. Despite a pleading marriage proposal from her beau, Stella decides to raise the child on her own.

Stella is pitched as a "human drama." Scenes of mother-daughter bonding are expected and even a certain amount of sentimentality is anticipated. What is not inherently obvious is just how far a film can go on such wobbly legs.

The main reason the film does not dissipate into a breeze of silliness is Midler. Stella is a complex character and Midler manages to give her a robust real life.

The slight Watertown twang adds to Stella's appeal and so do her funky clothes. What really sets Midler's performance apart is the complete detachment of Midler's own personality. Audiences are used to a bawdy and outrageous Midler; here there is not a hint of outlandishness.

Unfortunately, Midler is not strongly aided by supporting performers. Trini Alvarado -- most well-known for the wildly strange Times Square -- has the coveted role of Jenny Claire, the daughter Stella nurtures and then lets go.

Alvarado tries her best to bring the conflicts of teenage life above water; but soon, the many contradictions in Jenny's life seem easily solved and needlessly highlighted. Alvarado's skills as an ingenue are commendable, but her performance is not enough to make anyone really care about Jenny.

As Steven Dallas, Stephen Collins is simply bad. His emotive scenes are dull, he adds no sparkle to the film's love affair, and the question "why did Stella fall for a lout like this?" keeps creeping to mind.

John Goodman gives an amiable turn as Stella's hulk of a best friend; but his talents are not exploited.

Stella also seems to fail in its most basic task: to bring forth emotion. There is only one especially meaningful scene where Stella shows up at a posh beach club in a blinding blue garment. Here there is a true tendency to feel embarrassed as Jenny watches her friends stare at Stella with distaste. The scene is one of the few that works well on an emotional level.

However, the most poignant juncture should come at the end. Without revealing too much, Stella must stand in the shadows and watch her daughter experience happiness. The narrative structure of the scene should be enough to make even a scrooge tear, but the response instead is to sigh in relief at the film's impending end.

The overriding problem with Stella is not poor performances or overblown sentimentality, it is plain boredom. The film is like an uncared-for car engine --it takes a long time to get started. Although it only takes about 35 minutes of screen time for Jenny to be born and raised to a teen, even this process is slow.

Pacing is pertinent in a slice of life film, but Stella's strong sense of conclusion does not fit the form. There are some witty moments that quicken the pace, but they are few and far between.

Stella tries hard to live up to expectations of greatness, but there are too many half-wits in one film. The travesty is Midler's wasted energy.