Last night I went to see a press screening of Superhero Movie, from the stable of Airplane!, The Naked Gun and the Scary Movie series.

I didn't have high hopes for this film, as spoof movies have been getting progressively worse over the past few years (Meet The Spartans anyone?), but I was actually pleasantly surprised.

It doesn't start well – in fact the first fifteen minutes are filled with bad jokes – but as I was watching I remembered that the film is certified 12A – and I think younger teens will get a good few kicks out of those minutes. Once Leslie Nielsen appears it becomes pretty enjoyable for the rest of the audience. He and Marion Ross play nicely into that nostalgia bracket and you can tell Nielsen's made his career out of his great comic timing and line delivery.

Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) manages to completely steal the couple of scenes he is in – his fast-paced, full-of-nonsense doctor even manages to make a couple of really bad jokes amusing. A few American references left the screening room silent, but there were giggles at the internet gags that some have said are grating.

To read my thoughts on the wonders of Drake Bell, and my conclusions about the movie, just read more

Drake Bell plays the lead, nerdy Rick Riker aka Dragonfly, and I enjoyed his performance – the part's a little bland and relies on him reacting a lot, but he had a few shining moments in the midst of the insanity. Confession time: Kids TV show Drake And Josh is one of my guilty pleasures, where super-cool Drake Parker and nerdy Josh Nichols (aka Josh Peck of upcoming movie The Wackness) play a very amusing Odd Couple-like pair of step-brothers, so – for me – it was great to see him on the big screen. You might remember him as the kid who tells Tom Cruise where to go in Jerry Maguire, and he's also a musician with a couple of McFly-esque albums under his belt. Drake also performs the theme to the movie over the credits. Plus, as you may have guessed by now, I think he's pretty cute.

But enough about him, in summary, some of the movie feels a little old now, but there are a handful of laugh out loud moments that should make it worth your while. Leslie Nielsen and Jeffrey Tambor are both very funny, and while some of the set pieces do play to a teen audience, others had us all laughing. If spoofs are your thing then check it out in the cinema – the movie's at UK cinemas from Friday – but otherwise... wait for the DVD.

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