You would be forgiven for assuming that a film with Jonah Hill in the lead role would be outrageously funny. He has co-starred in some of the funniest films of this century, including Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall; movies in which he provided us with booming, if at times awkward, laughter. 

Unfortunately if you are expecting this ‘comedy’ to tickle you, then you will be disappointed. Hill plays suspended college student Noah who, apparently unwillingly, yet totally voluntarily, gets roped into babysitting his next door neighbours. It is no doubt recycled material: unsuitable man gets coaxed into minding children.

We have all seen Uncle Buck and Daddy Day Care, just as we have all avoided seeing Drilbit Taylor, and of course, let us not forget Role Models. (Or Kindergarten Cop!) The movie is drained due to the many plot holes left unattended, for example, the idea of him being suspended from college is not fully addressed, but merely alluded to.

Perhaps had prior incidents been brought forward, the seemingly outrageous idea that he should not be minding children may be more believable. Noah is a caring sort so it makes no sense that he would be suspended from college, nor put the children he is babysitting in jeopardy, yet paradoxically it would not have been so easy to warm to the character had he been some sort of brutish rebel.

The entire story is based around Noah’s girlfriend calling him and demanding sex, and the various adventures he gets into while driving himself and the children he is minding to her place: Not exactly an intelligent nor difficult to write storyline.

This is an immature, gung-ho kind of comedy, that perhaps only 11 and 12 year olds would find funny, purely because of the shock factor involved in seeing a ‘grown-up’ movie. It is stuffed full of unfunny quips from both Hill and the child actors, who are unfortunately off to a bad start with this particular caper.

Of course the movie also features an adorable little girl who recently learned some swear words, and proceeds to drop F bombs at any chance she gets- a poor attempt on the writers’ part at trying generate laughs as it is something that has been done in so much more clever ways and in much better scripted movies.

Overall, it is likely to get nominated for one or two Razzie awards, and it will probably see Hill’s reasonably fresh career take a spiral, as being associated with terrible movies can often do for an actor (Haven’t seen you in anything decent for a while, Mr Gooding Jr.).

It is one for the must NOT see movie list, and it’s release date, 20th of January, is one you should probably keep free for something that is actually enjoyable. 2 out of 10

Claire Kane