There are rumours of an official sequel to Wedding Crashers, but Owen Wilson hasn't bothered waiting for Vince Vaughn to say "I do".

This natural successor to the 2005 comedy hit renews Wilson's licence to play the Zen buffoon as Randy Dupree, best friend to working stiff Carl Peterson (Dillon, filling Vaughn's shoes), and drafts in Kate Hudson as Carl's new wife Molly.

After performing best man duties in Hawaii, Dupree finds himself with no job and nowhere to live. Against their better judgement but feeling partly responsible, Carl and Molly take him in.

Dupree immediately makes himself at home, changing the answer-phone message, ordering new cable channels and stinking out the toilets. If boys will be boys, Dupree makes Peter Pan look ready for his bus pass.

As far as Carl and Molly's home and marriage go, he's a bare-faced, bare-arsed wrecking ball. Only when a hot date gets a little too hot does he get his marching orders.

Chastened, Dupree transforms himself from irresponsible galoot to cycling-obsessed poet.

Already undermined by his devious father-in-law (Douglas) – who is also his boss - Carl becomes consumed by suspicion as Molly cosies up to his newly fit-and-sensitive buddy. Carl is about to lose his cool...

Don't expect any surprises on this comedy front. The boys aren't the skateboarders they used to be; strippers time their arrival with Molly on guys' night; Molly's dad hates Carl but loves Dupree. Ho-hum.

But obvious can still be funny. "An animal wouldn't debase himself thus!" wails Dupree when Molly catches him red-handed (so to speak) with Carl's porn stash. Carl is more perturbed that his sock is involved.

Wilson can do this stuff in his sleep; the real fun comes from the oily Douglas and Dillon using his cartoonish good looks to mirthful effect as he did in There's Something About Mary. Comedy becomes him.

That both he and Hudson generate more chemistry with Wilson than with each other is probably deliberate, though the timing is a bit unfortunate for Ms Hawn Jr.

With her real-life marriage recently hitting the rocks, it seems odd to hear her dispensing wisdom about how to make a relationship work.

Like the man himself, Dupree is nice to have around for a while but definitely overstays its welcome.

Elliott Noble