BEN Elton ranted and raved his way through the 80s and 90s - and mostly knew what he was talking about.

And with the movie Maybe Baby writer-director Elton definitely knows his subject.

The film is based on his novel Inconceivable, which was inspired by his own struggles to have a child, which resulted in he and his wife Sophie turning to IVF treatment.

As is to be expected from such a skilled writer, the movie strikes a pleasing balance between comedy and drama.

He fleshes out the desperate couple Sam and Lucy Bell (Hugh Laurie, Joely Richardson) in broad, though intimate strokes, and slowly gains our affection and sympathy for them.

The laughs are frequent and evolve from the couple's predicament, or Elton's sardonic insider's view of the entertainment industry (his portrait of the inner workings of the Beeb - where Sam is a TV Commissioning Editor - is far from flattering).

But underlying the humour is a serious issue which, because of his personal experience, he can make funny without being insensitive.

Laurie is a natural leading man, possessing an endearing vulnerability which will pleasantly surprise cinema-goers expecting a pure comedy performance.

He's completely at home with the Elton's particular brand of humour - everything from verbal quips to slapstick.

Richardson is equally sweet and charming, beautifully underplaying the comedy and convincingly portraying a young woman whose life is slowly falling to pieces because the one thing she desires most in the world is just beyond her grasp.

They are surrounded by a bewildering array of cameos (Emma Thompson as a New Age guru, Dawn French as an Australian nurse, Joanna Lumley as the tough-as-boots lesbian manager of Lucy's theatrical agency) which are all huge fun, but tend to slightly distract from the realistic feel of the film.