The Watch

This crude but often funny comedy stars Ben Stiller as suburban store manager Evan who decides to form a neighbourhood watch group after his night security guard is murdered. Unfortunately, his call to action attracts only misfits: boorish sports fan Vince Vaughn, angry police academy reject Jonah Hill and recently divorced oddball Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd). Their efforts are cruelly mocked by the equally bumbling and ineffective local police force, but when it transpires that the killer is an extraterrestrial acting as advance guard for a full-on invasion, Evan and his hapless heroes must find a way to save not just their neighbours but the entire planet. The overall premise is a little on the flimsy side - think a smutty Ghostbusters set in the suburbs - but director Akiva Schaffer piles on the jokes and set pieces to keep things moving. Stiller is splendid as the kind of uptight character he has played many times before, but it's Vaughn, as a good-time guy battling both aliens and his teenage daughter's boyfriend, who gets the pick of the gags.