In 1996, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn appeared in the Doug Liman film Swingers. It was beautifully written (by Favreau) and the two male leads proved to be u ¨ber charming. It felt at the time that together they could do no wrong. But that was then.

Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) have reached a point in their relationship where they are unsure whether to continue or not. To help them come to a decision, they’ve agreed to go to Eden; a tropical island resort that also offers therapy for couples.

The only way they can afford the trip is if they can get a group rate, which means roping in their friends to go with them. However couples Dave (Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Ackerman), Joey (Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) and Shane (Faizon Love) and Trudi (Kali Hawk), are all led to believe that the therapy sessions are optional. They’re not – but they only learn this once they’ve arrived on the island; at which point, there’s no turning back.

1-2-3- say "Paycheck!"

Anyone expecting even a glimmer of humour from this so-called comedy, will be woefully disappointed. Even though Vaughn and Favreau wrote the film (along with Dana Fox), it is completely devoid of wit, charm and personality. What they have managed to create then is a soulless, empty void that lasts 107 minutes.

Where Vaughn and Favreau were once seen as being hip, cool and likeable, they now appear on our screen as middle class, middle aged and oh-so middle of the road. It’s almost too hideous to comprehend, but alas, oh so true.

You would expect that they would at least write in some sparky dialogue between the two of them; maybe just a hint of their Swingers characters grown-up? But what we get is scene after scene with no chemistry whatsoever. No rapport. No heart. What it does have is the kind of humour that you would find in a really bad US sitcom. The only thing that’s missing is the laughter track.

Bateman does his best with his Michael Bluth-esque character, but the truth is he simply doesn’t have the same kind of quality dialogue to pull it off.

As well as being full of clichés and highly predictable, there’s a curious product placement scene which sees Vaughn play Guitar Hero against Eden Manager Stanley (played by Peter Serafinowicz, who feels like he’s auditioning for a remake of Westworld) for what feels like forever. However, it’s more likely to make you want to pull your eyes out of their sockets and roll them out of the cinema to make it stop, rather than rush out and purchase a copy of Guitar Hero 5.

Also, in real life, there’s a sordid pleasure to be had witnessing a couple arguing in public. But when you just care don’t about the characters and their pointless whining, there’s simply nothing of interest here. Plus the fact the fact we’re paying for the ‘pleasure’, just rubs salt into the wounds.

And just to add insult to injury, they managed to talk the usually cool Jean Reno into appearing on screen in just some skimpy pants. How could they do such a thing? He was Leon for God’s sake, have they no shame? On this evidence, no – no they don’t.

If you’re not aware of how good these two can be on screen together, then perhaps this dire effort may hold your attention and possibly even entertain for brief periods. Otherwise, you’ll just be left with a bitter sense of disappointment. If you want to remember them the way they were, it’s simple – just avoid this; that way, you won’t be disappointed. Instead, go buy yourself a copy of the classic Swingers, and forget this even happened, which really isn’t that difficult.