Stars playing bus drivers as a heady combination of romantic lead and winning comedian haven't traditionally been a success. Just ask Reg Varney from On The Buses.

Cedric the Entertainer continues the less-than-illustrious line as Ralph Kramden, a New York City bus driver with dreams of a better life than the one he's got.

He lives in a cramped apartment rattled by passing subway trains with Gabrielle Union - which is as about as likely as Bernard Manning shacking up with Gisele Bundchen.

Downstairs is his dopey plumber pal Ed (Epps) and together they dream up cash-generating projects that inevitably leave them worse off than when they started.

Ring any bells? Well, actually it's exactly the same premise as our own Only Fools and Horses except that a half-hour episode of that was at least three-times funnier than his flat farrago.

Things get slightly better when they hook up with John Leguizamo's shifty rogue, who promises to coach a greyhound they've acquired to win a $20,000 purse at the local track.

In one of the better lines, they assure the track-owner of their racing pedigree by claiming they've presided over dog-racing in Argentina since the Shah took over.

But, more often than not, the gags aren't so much feeble as in need of life-support while the two leads prove to be more irritating than endearing.

This race-reverses the 1950s American TV sitcom but at least the original star - Jackie Gleason - could draw humour from an unsympathetic character.

Kramden merely shows himself to be a lying fat git who lies to his wife that he's going to change his selfish ways... only to demonstrate he hasn't.

Tim Evans