SLACKERS (15, 86 mins) Starring Devon Sawa, Micchael C Maronna, Jason Segel, Jason Schwartzman. Now showing at UGC and Cineworld, Swindon

ANY fans of the popular and long-running British comic The Beano may recognise elements of Roger the Dodger in Slackers.

As any Beano-ite will tell you, Roger had slacking off to a fine art and it would seem the three heroes of Slackers worship at the table of The Dodger.

This mildly amusing teen sex comedy follows the adventures of pals Dave (Sawa), Jeff (Maronna) and Sam (Segel), who pass their time blissfully in college without doing any work.

They orchestrate elaborate scams to steal exam answer sheets, so they can pass their mid terms with the least effort.

When resident geek Ethan (Schwartzman) uncovers the ruse, he blackmails one of the trio, Dave, into helping him win the affections of the most beautiful girl on campus, Angela (James King).

Dave is only too willing to help, to save his hide and his academic career, until he finds himself falling for Angela too.

As Ethan's patience begins to wear thin, Dave must choose between expulsion from college, or sacrificing the girl he loves.

There is a blandness to Slackers that means it comes nowhere near the outrageousness of the taste-free antics of the characters in the similarly themed American Pie movies. But there is probably a market out there somewhere for teenagers yearning for the type of hedonistic lifestyle practiced here.

And while the central trio, and the story's unconvincing love triangle, fail to impress, Schwartsman's nerd from hell does enough to steal the show and find the film some laughs.

Rating: 6 out of 10