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With death stalking his footsteps, Around The Bend's oldest character, eccentric archaeologist Henry Lair (Michael Caine), gathers three generations of his family to his bedside for an elaborate send-off. Henry's disgraced son Turner (Christopher Walken) and his mild-mannered grandson Jason (Josh Lucas) are then compelled to take a trip across America, scattering Henry's ashes at various significant locations and fitting in a spot of male bonding. What we've got here, essentially, is Oprah for boys.

There's nothing like a funeral to rattle your skeletons. Combine the last rites with a road trip across the arid landscapes of New Mexico and you've got a movie that practically writes itself: dark family secrets, absent fathers, mournful country ballads - there's even a cutesy innocent child (Jonah Bobo) to contrast with the disillusioned daddies. Around The Bend is one of those films where you just know every character will get their emotional freak on before the credits roll. It's therapy on wheels.

"THE SCRIPT LUMBERS LIKE A HIPPO"

Actors love this repressed trauma guff, which might explain the presence of heavyweights Walken and Caine. But audiences find it hard going at the best of times, and this is not the best of times. The script (by first-time director Jordan Roberts) lumbers like a hippo, and the performers struggle to strum a clear chord on your heartstrings. The exception to this rule is Walken, but Walken could squeeze tears from a telephone book. His elegant, wounded dignity and quirky line-readings provide a valuable distraction from the tedium.