Comparisons are said to be odious so let's quickly dispense with the obligatory measuring up of this against the Stanley Kramer classic Guess Who's Coming To Dinner.

The white middle-class parents played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are now black high achievers Bernie Mac and Judith Scott.

Replacing Sidney Poitier as the daughter's mystery boyfriend is Ashton Kutcher, veteran of Dude, Where's My Car and the MTV wind-up show Punk'd.

OK, so you might groan when you see that director Kevin Rodney Sullivan has racially reversed the white-parents-unsuspecting-of-daughter's-black-boyfriend routine... but it works.

And it works because of a sharp, richly textured script which delivers snappy dialogue and good natured playing by all the leads, particularly Kutcher and Mac.

In fact, Kutcher - given free rein in a decent comedy role - is a revelation, with his trademark knockabout style complemented by some sweet comic timing.

He plays WASP stockbroker Simon Green, a decent enough young chap who's living with Mac's artist daughter Theresa (Zoe Saldana).

Mac's convinced his little girl will be bringing home a composite of Denzel Washington and Tiger Woods... so it's a surprise when Green turns up on his doorstep.

Although he's been "taught to see people not colour" he can't help showing his disappointment that the decidedly unsporty Simon is his daughter's squeeze.

Sullivan isn't afraid to brush PC considerations aside and crack some decent gags at the expense of racial stereotypes.

It's not every movie that you hear the reason black people don't like country and western music is because when someone says hoe-down they think their sister's been shot.

The women - mum and daughter - are strong, sassy and grounded while Mac, it turns out, is over-protective rather than prejudiced.

It may sound a little too neat but guess what? Guess Who's worth a look.

Tim Evans