Date Movie Review

Just when you thought that films such as "Not Another Teen Movie" and the "Scary Movie" franchise had bleed the spoof genre dry, along comes another sideswipe at mainstream Hollywood. But this time writers Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer plumb the depths of the romcom back catalogue - and the result is a mess beyond comprehension.

The basic storyline follows chubby waitress Julia (Alyson Hannigan in a fat suit) as she searches for true love. One extreme makeover later she's a size 8 and therefore worthy of some attention. Soon Julia's on the arm of foppish Brit Grant Funkyerdoder (Adam Campbell). Cue plenty of cheap gags at the expense of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "Hitch", "Napoleon Dynamite", "Bridget Jones's Diary" - the list goes on and on.

There's no doubt that Hannigan can do comedy - her turn as Michelle in the "American Pie" series proved that. But at least that role provided a bit of characterisation and subtlety - something "Date Movie" avoids at all costs as writers Friedberg and Seltzer batter you intro submission with bad taste gag after bad taste gag. You know you're in trouble when you're faced with an animatronic cat squatting on a toilet, and liposuctioned fat which ends up as bargain mayonnaise! The only people who come out of this with any dignity are Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard who parody Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman's relaxed couple from "Meet The Fockers".

The very nature of comedy spoofs - with their rapid succession of cheap joke after cheap joke after cheap joke - means that often there are more gags that miss than hit. Although the sheer law of averages means that "Date Movie" will have you laughing out loud on occasions, it has to be said that those occasions are unfortunately, too few and far between to justify the cost of a cinema ticket.