Meet Dave (PG)                                                                  

From the director and star of the nauseating Norbit comes this science fiction comedy, aimed squarely at the least discerning families on the planet. 

The good news is that it's better than Eddie Murphy's last venture into sci-fi, Pluto Nash, which in 2002 became the single greatest money-loser in cinematic history.

The bad news is: it's not much better, and nowhere near good enough to compete with WALL-E.

Alienating: Eddie Murphy

Murphy stars as the captain of a Murphy-shaped spaceship, populated entirely by lazy, unamusing stereotypes, such as Musicals-Loving Gay Guy, Eye-Rolling Black Man, and Foxy Black Woman With Big Breasts Who's Secretly in Love With Our Hero. 

As the captain wanders around Manhattan, trying to learn about humans and becoming attuned to New Yorkers' legendary warmheartedness, the film is like a woefully unimaginative, charmless remake of Enchanted.

Murphy's face-pulling marks him out as not so much alien, as alienating. 

Life lessons are learned, lavatory jokes are cracked, Hollywood formula is followed. After 85 minutes, the spaceship runs out of energy. That's about an hour later than the script.

Verdict: On second thoughts, don't

*