‘Were the World Mine’ is benign and silly story

Blending Shakespeare and “High School Musical” might sound like a bit of a stretch, but “Were the World Mine” director Tom Gustafson is undaunted.

And to put this idea over, he’s heeded the advice of the Mel Brooks musical “The Producers”: “Make it gay.”

The pixilated premise of “Were the World Mine” has gay teen Timothy (Tanner Cohen) cast as Puck in the new school production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Taking the Bard’s recipe for a love potion a little too seriously, Timothy mixes up a concoction that, when sprayed on the unsuspecting, makes them fall in love with the first person they see.

The idea worked for Shakespeare in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and it works a few charms in this movie, too.

Gustafson takes too long to get to his major plot point, but once the town partakes of the love potion (apparently almost everybody inhales some), the goofy combinations provide some entertaining moments.

Especially love-smacked is the otherwise homophobic coach of the school rugby team, who develops a crush on the bewildered headmaster. The members of the team suddenly perform their on-field rituals with lofty, balletic precision.

Left on the sidelines are Timothy’s mother (Judy McLane), who might be able to catch on with her new job as a door-to-door cosmetics salesperson if she can stop swearing, and Timothy’s friend Frankie, a songstress played by Zelda Williams (daughter of Robin Williams).

Neither got a dose of the elixir, but they find themselves pursued by others.

The fact that most of these instant crushes are of the same-sex variety is presumably part of Gustafson’s joke. The tone is benign and silly, which makes the movie likable but also leaves it somewhat unmemorable, too.

The school play is presided over by one of those self-styled drama divas, played with obnoxious sincerity by Wendy Robie.

Since it’s a boys prep school, the female roles in the play will be taken by males, so the gender-bending begins even before Timothy mixes up his potion.

Music fills out the rest of the picture, some of it set to the words of Shakespeare.

Although the production is colorful, the low-budget realities of an indie movie probably restrict some of the possibilities here. But if Disney is looking for a director for “High School Musical 4,” they don’t need to look any farther.