Mortdecai

Johnny Depp is in danger of being upstaged by his own moustache in this knockabout crime caper. The title character of the dodgy British art dealer benefits from the actor's roguish charm and his crisp delivery of some very flowery dialogue. But, like the film as a whole, it's a performance comprised of affectations, anachronisms and ostentatious facial hair. Paul Bettany is particularly hard done by, playing Mortdecai's modern-day "man servant", whose only duty is to bludgeon the bad guys who get in the way of his master's efforts to recover a stolen Goya. His character's name is Jock Strapp - and the jokes are delivered with a similarly heavy hand. Director David Koepp (best known for scripting Hollywood thrillers like Mission: Impossible) aims for Jeeves and Wooster-inspired satire, but without the olde worlde backdrop, this is just a tepid fish-out-of-water farce. Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor try to make Mortdecai seem less conspicuous with their own overly plummy accents but, except for the odd chuckle here and there, the talented cast struggles to inject much comedy value.