The film plods at the start, with long intros to each of the characters and big doses of slapstick action complete with the cake routine.

It is frantic, noisy, gaudy and, largely, joyless.

How long can you keep the whole tribute thing going and still make it feel fresh? How much send up is too much?

Happy New Year is a brightly colored, obnoxiously loud, brutishly simplistic, yet artfully crafted pile of filmi, overly dramatic conventions and references.