Show Rating:

The Hollow Men can be sheer brilliance, mixing stupid wordplay, fantastic sight gags and strong characters into a superb laugh-out-loud extravaganza.

Sad to report, then, that for the most part they have chosen not to do this, instead wheeling out a lacklustre collection of esoteric clever-clever sketches that are brilliantly executed, yet virtually laugh-free.

It's very telling that the highlight of the show is a stupid mime, literally interpreting the lyrics to Natalie Imbruglia's Torn - a sketch they first performed two years ago, even using the same tune.

That's by no means the only high point. The outrageous and funny finale, a similarly silly visual interpretation of Bonnie Tyler's finest, is almost entirely responsible for redeeming the show from its own mediocrity, and the introductory instructions, a doctored version of an aircraft announcement, is packed with witty one-liners.

It's just such a shame that most the 55 minutes between the opening and the closing don't hit the mark. Too much effort seems to have been expended on the execution and too little on the gags, so the show gives off the distinct whiff of self-indulgence.

A couple of ideas are promising - the fast-paced film noirish flirtations and the inner voices of poker players - but punchlines are thin on the ground.

For all the cleverness, one of the biggest laughs comes in a sketch about an awkward master-servant relationship (seemingly lifted wholesale from The Fast Show's Ted and Ralph) - when a character is hit in the face with a cake. Perhaps because it's one of the few instantly identifiable gags in the show.

And it's further proof that they can be funny - if only they took themselves a lot less seriously.