The Animal

There are certain comedians who don't travel. Adam Sandler is one. His friend Rob Schneider is another. What's funny about them?

Judging by The Animal, very little. Hollywood humour has discovered teen sex - American Pie and its multiple clones - and bodily functions - anything by the Farrelly brothers - as if they've been off limits forever and now aren't. Yipee!

Schneider prefers fart jokes and bum jokes.

He plays Marvin, who is such a wimp he can't pass the physical to join the police force. He's an evidence file clerk, instead. After an horrendous car accident, he is kidnapped by a mad surgeon, who puts him together with animal parts. A week later, he's back at work, except, if he's not careful, he'll behave like a ravenous wolf, or an oversexed hound, or a cat, or a seal, or a baby vulture's mother.

He likes to mark his territory and so pees on the table legs in a restaurant when out on a date. Any creature on heat within half a mile gets him going. Bottoms, naturally, need to be sniffed. His sense of smell increases to the point where he can catch the whiff of heroin in a man's underpants from 500 paces.

The script never leaves the lavatory. Schneider is a little man with furry hair. His talent as a laughsmith relies on the sympathy vote.