Preview: Kathryn Kernohan

WHAT happens when you transport three disaster-prone English lads to the Blue Mountains, and make them promise to be on their best behaviour for their mate’s wedding – one of the social events of the year on Australia’s political calendar?

If you answer ‘‘utter chaos,’’ you’ve already got your head around the plot of high-energy slapstick comedy A Few Best Men. Penned by Death at a Funeral screenwriter Dean Craig and directed by Stephan Elliott (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), it’s a generally entertaining flick that sometimes hits the mark and sometimes doesn’t – but the gags fly so thick and fast it doesn’t really matter.

Londoner David (Xavier Samuel) returns home from a beach holiday with some big news; he’s just gotten engaged to Mia (Laura Brent), an Australian girl he’s only known for a week.

His mates – arrogant Tom (Kris Marshall from BBC sitcom My Family), neurotic Graham (Kevin Bishop) and depressed Luke (Tim Draxl) – don’t have time to digest the news before they’re herded on to a plane and flown to New South Wales, where the wedding will take place in two days’ time.

David doesn’t know it, but he’s marrying into an affluent family led by right-wing senator Jim (Jonathan Biggins) who is treating the big day as a chance to schmooze with party leaders. So it’s unfortunate for the groom-to-be that his three mates are bumbling fools. In a storyline similar to Meet the Parents, the trio manages to accidentally steal a bag of guns and cocaine from creepy outback dealer Ray (Last Train to Freo’s Steve Le Marquand), destroy the picturesque wedding setting, kidnap Jim’s prized ram Ramsay, make possibly the worst best man’s speech of all time and get Mia’s repressed mother Barbara (Olivia Newton-John, who is clearly enjoying herself) high on the stolen drugs. The lads stumble from one disaster to the next as Mia starts to question exactly what type of person she’s marrying.

Rebel Wilson follows her memorable role in Bridesmaids with a small but enjoyable part as Mia’s psuedo-lesbian sister Daphne, and the chemistry between Marshall and cinema newcomer Bishop is particularly entertaining.

A lot of the humour is decidedly lowbrow (when Ramsay swallows bags of cocaine, the boys are forced to retreive it the only way they know how), but there are some genuine laughs along the way.

This is one for a hot (or freezing – this is Melbourne, after all) summer’s afternoon when you just want to switch off your brain and relax.