How good is a film by the director of Wayne’s World 2, the producers of Alien Autopsy and the writers of Thunderbirds likely to be? These are the people behind a new British sex comedy about two lads trying to make a porn movie in I Want Candy.

Joe Clarke (Tom Riley) and John Bagley (Tom Burke) are film students from Leatherhead with an eye on the big time. Their tutor (Mackenzie Crook) has cut their end of year project from 90 minutes to just two and in their frustration they head to London to sell their script.

Encountering nothing but closed doors, their luck changes when they stumble across seedy porn distributor Doug Perry (Eddie Marsan) of Head Films who’s willing to throw some money at them provided they nab the star he needs. There’s just one problem – the star is porn legend Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra).

Joe persuades Baggy, who fancies himself as a bit of an auteur, to rewrite the script so that it includes oodles of erotica. After a couple of false starts they secure Candy, who loves the story and happens to be in the UK launching her biography – quelle coincidence.

With the help of their waitress friend Lila (Michelle Ryan from EastEnders) Joe starts auditioning for co-stars.

Judging by the initial cackles at the screening I attended my attitude could be deemed positively hoity-toity. I quickly learned there’s no room for snobbery in the world of film criticism and despite myself I too ended up laughing my head off.

I Want Candy definitely has its moments and the script is smart and funny. Director Stephen Surjik refrains from crass toilet humour à la Farrelly Brothers and has managed to make a tasteful mainstream film about making a porn movie.

On a tight budget the boys make the film in their parents house when they're out at work, which produces some particularly funny scenes when they come back unexpectedly. Performances and reactions to the bizarre situations the characters find themselves in are realistic and even Electra walks away unscathed.

The naughty bits are only suggested and we’re never allowed below the camera’s eye view, but there is some girl on girl kissing.

The only down side is the slapped arse face of Jimmy Carr turning up as a video store assistant.

I Want Candy’s USP is that any Average Joe can end up making a porn movie starring the likes of Carmen Electra. Amazingly enough you’re convinced that it’s possible by the end of the film.

I Want Candy is released in the UK on 23 March 2007

Interested in queer films? Then get the DVD of Like a Brother online and save yourself some money to put towards other gay films like Hilde’s Journey, Hellbent, Slutty Summer, Happy Endings, A Year Without Love, Latter Days, Eating Out, Regular Guys and Cowboys & Angels.