CHARLIE Carbone (Jerry O'Connell) and Louis Fucci (Anthony Anderson) have been best friends ever since Louis saved Charlie from drowning as a child.

Twenty years later, the pair are still inseparable, with Louis embroiling them in a succession of shady get-rich-quick schemes.

After their latest plan goes horribly wrong, and they inadvertently lead the cops to a warehouse of stolen goods owned by Charlie's violent stepfather Sal (Christopher Walken), the lads think their fate is sealed.

Thankfully, mob boss Sal gives them one final chance to redeem themselves: a trip to Australia to deliver $50,000 to a business associate.

It sounds like the easiest job in the world, until Charlie and Louis arrive down under and run over a kangaroo in the Outback.

For reasons which are never explained (spot the plot contrivance), the hapless double-act decide to have their picture taken with the dead animal, dressing it in Louis' lucky red jacket.

Mid-photo, the creature wakes from unconsciousness and promptly hops away - still wearing the jacket which contains the $50,000. Charlie and Louis give chase, seeking help from sexy wildlife conservationist Jessie (Estella Warren) and an inebriated local pilot (Bill Hunter).

When the lads fail to turn up with the money, the intended recipient - local hoodlum Mr Smith (Marton Csokas) - sets out with his own gun-toting posse to track the lads down.

As premises go, Kangaroo Jack certainly takes the biscuit, contriving a madcap dash across the Australian wilderness between two lovable fools and a computer generated marsupial who is more animated than half the supporting cast.

Youngsters will probably enjoy the comical antics of the eponymous kangaroo, but parents will definitely want to hop off elsewhere.

Rating: 4/10