One way to get ahead in Hollywood is to strong-arm the rights to a superior British film, replace a quality cast with American journeymen and spoil the ending.

It happened to Get Carter, someone should have been shot for The Ladykillers and The Wicker Man was the last straw.

Now some bright spark in Tinseltown has hit on the idea of remaking the Ealing-esque 1960 comedy classic of one-upmanship, School For Scoundrels.

The original featured the cad-sans-pareil Terry-Thomas as bounder Raymond Delauney while Ian Carmichael brought old school British decency to the part of good egg Henry Palfrey.

In the Americanised version Napoleon Dynamite star Jon Heder plays New York traffic warden Roger, a nervous wreck undermined by low self-esteem and cursed by a permanent state of bewilderment.

Billy Bob Thornton plays Dr P, the principal of a top-secret confidence-building class whose new intake - Roger included - "stand out as the weakest in a room full of weak men. "

Dr P - with the brute force backing of his enforcer Lesher (Clarke Duncan) - instills feelings of adequacy in his charges with a variety of morally questionable ruses.

These include an "initiate confrontation" instruction where his pupils have to start a fight (or worse) with someone in their immediate vicinity.

After a faltering start, Roger's bullishness begins to bloom and he plucks up the courage to ask neighbour and longtime crush Amanda (Barrett) out on a date.

However, the devious Dr P sees the new Rog as a threat and begins his own seduction of Amanda, sticking closely to his class mantra "Lie, then lie some more."

Road Trip and Old School director Todd Phillips reins back his traditional gross-out inclinations to produce a likeable comedy that almost invites the adjective subtle.

Heder is perfectly cast as the stumbling neurotic while Thornton may sleepwalk through his sort of dastardly role (cf Bad Santa) ...but he still does the job.

It's a solid comedy that deserves top marks for effort.

Tim Evans