It's difficult to imagine how this will play to a target audience of teens preoccupied with X-Boxes, large trousers and industrial strength Clearasil.

Teenage TV star Bynes is just too lightweight to carry a lead role and her cool American teen-with-attitude makes Britney Spears look like Linda Lovelace.

Rebellion to her is not about getting trashed at a dodgy nighclub but staying up past midnight and drinking all the milk.

She plays Daphne, the daughter of a wedding singer (Kelly Preston) and old-school English aristocrat Lord Dashwood (Firth).

However, after their Bedouin marriage in the African desert, Dashwood's dodgy advisor (Pryce) judged her unsuitable and saw the American off 17 years before.

Now Daphne is combing a London of punk rockers and red Routemaster buses to hunt down her father.

Ally McBeal director Gordon seems to have done the research in one of those tacky souvenir shops off Trafalgar Square.

Dashwood's vast estate appears to be just down the road from Big Ben while every English character is an offensive stereotype.

Chancellor reprises her rich-bitch role while Firth doesn't seem to have been in anything worthwhile since Conspiracy (and that was a TV movie).

There are a handful of decent lines but most are creaking anachronisms in the style of "No hugs. I'm British - we only show affection to dogs and horses."

It's a leaden affair and in an age of zippy franchises such as Spy Kids you really wonder if it's what an audience wants.

Tim Evans