Nativity 3: Dude Where's My Donkey?!

This second sequel to 2009 hit Nativity! has more fun and games from the kids of St Bernadette's and their oh-so-creepy classroom assistant, Mr Poppy (Marc Wootton), but the comedy returns are definitely diminishing. Yes, the clever if manipulative use of cute non-actors as pupils had charm in the first two films, but the novelty has now worn extremely thin. Martin Clunes (following in the footsteps of Martin Freeman and David Tennant) plays their hapless new teacher, and he loses both his memory and the school donkey before they can say, "please, sir". It's therefore down to Poppy and co to save the day by going to New York to win a flash-mobbing competition and help amnesiac Clunes rescue sweetheart Catherine Tate from the amorous attentions of her smoothie ex-boyfriend. This is desperately poor stuff, juvenile in the extreme, thoroughly unfunny, and pitched squarely at younger kids. However, even they will probably find it too long and convoluted.