Movie 43

Three kids get engrossed in the urban myth of Movie 43, a film that is apparently so dangerous that it has been banned in every country in the world, "including Amsterdam". Searching the hidden depths of the internet, they try to hunt down the mythical movie and along the way stumble on to a series of short films, each one weirder and more disgusting than the one before it. To give you a taste of these movies, the very first one features Kate Winslet going on a blind date with eligible bachelor Hugh Jackman, only to discover that he has a terrible secret. Which turns out to be that his testicles - yes, his actual nads - are on his neck. Over the next few minutes, we then witness Hugh's balls dipping into soup, perched on a baby's head and dropping pubes all over the place. If this sounds like a laugh riot to you, then chances are you're going to love Movie 43. But if scrotum humour isn't your bag, then repeat after me; avoid avoid AVOID.

The idea of Movie 43 is a good one; get some of the biggest actors in the world - seriously, that cast list is astounding - and put them in some of the most purile, potentially hilarious situations you can think of. Unfortunately though, that potential is wasted by an almost universal lack of intelligence. Some of the sketches do land well; the Naomi Watts / Liev Schrieber home-schooling their son skit is probably the best realised one, and a fake commerical for a charity supporting children who work inside vending machines is properly hilarious. But too many of the shorts fall flat on their faces because it seems they thought that no matter how bad the jokes were, they'd be funny just because really famous people are telling them.

The even bigger problem with Movie 43 is that websites like Funny Or Die and College Humour have been doing this kind of celebrity short thing for years; they're better at it AND they're free to watch online. Yes, there is some fun to be had watching Elizabeth Banks whack an animated cat around with a shovel, or Emma Stone lose her mind when she's compared to Blanch from The Golden Girls, but these genuinely funny moments are too few and fair between; even at a scant 90 minutes, this is one joke that goes on for too long.