THIS is a short-ish film by today's standards, but one and a half hours is probably just about all you could take of this feeble offering.

Which is particularly disappointing as the Coen brothers, who must be held responsible, have produced some absolute gems in the past.

Perhaps that's why the expectations were so high for this. That and the fact it's got the gorgeous George Clooney.

Clooney plays Miles Massey, a divorce lawyer who can get even the most cheating husband who has been caught with his trousers down off the hook.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who admittedly looks absolutely stunning, is Marilyn Rexroth, a woman well schooled in the art of marrying rich husbands, successfully divorcing them and taking them for all they're worth.

And very successful she is at it too. Until she meets her match, both in law and in love, in Miles. Cue plenty of vaguely witty repartee and "comedy" situations which end up in one big farce.

Being a 12 certificate, all's well that ends well and even the violence is handled with kid gloves and laughed off.

And perhaps that's where the problem lies. If the Coens are trying to be more mainstream, it just doesn't work. And even cameos by the brilliant Geoffrey Rush and Billy Bob Thornton can't save it.

If this is a black comedy, it's not black enough. If it's a romantic comedy, it's not romantic enough. And if it's a comedy, well then it's just not funny enough.

SC