The front of the DVD proudly declares "From the guys behind Talladega Nights and Step Brothers". Not only we’re these ‘guys’ probably behind the guys actually behind those films – seeing that both the director and writers of this film had nothing to do with either of those titles – you’re also not doing yourself any favours in associating yourself with two really terrible films. It's already not looking very promising.

Times are hard, particularly for Ben Selleck (James Brolin) and his car dealership in small town Temecula. Things get so bad that he decides to call in a specialist, Don ‘The Goods’ Ready (Jeremy Piven) and his crack sales team. They’ve just three days to sell 200 cars; if they don’t, the car lot will be sold to a local competitor, who can’t wait to see Selleck out of business.

Ready is a pro at selling cars, but something happened to him on his last job in Kentucky that left a scare that just won’t heal. On top of this, it appears that one of Selleck’s salesmen may be his son, and he falls in love with Selleck’s daughter Ivy (Jordana Spiro) who’s engaged to be married.

But he has to put all these things to one side and concentrate on his mantra – sell the metal.

Oh c'mon, don't be glum. You've got Entourage, I've got The Office, they'll soon forget this hunk of junk.

If you’re looking for a comedy with a pedigree, then you’ve come to the wrong place. Neal Brennan, who co-created US comedy Chappelle’s Show, makes his directorial debut with The Goods. The writing team has only written one other film before - a vehicle for Seann William Scott, which says it all really.

The film’s only ace in the deck is Jeremy Piven. He first managed to stand-out in the early nineties in one of the greatest comedy shows of all time The Larry Sanders Show, with a recurring role. But it wasn’t until his tour-de-force performance as agent Ari Gold in the show Entourage that really put him on the map.

But as a star vehicle for him, this runs like a battered Renault 5 on its last legs. He and the rest of the solid cast (including Arrested Development’s Tony Hale (Buster) and The Hangover’s Ken Jeong (Mr Chow)) do the best they can with what little they have, but the script really isn’t anything to write home about.

Most of the gags aren’t just cheap, they’re pound shop material. It’s lowest common denominator kind of stuff, with some gratuitous nudity thrown in for good measure. However, it does contain some genuinely funny scenes; the problem is you’ll probably end up hating yourself for laughing at them.

A cameo by Will Ferrell certainly lifts the mood, but much like his character, it doesn’t last long.

Watching the film might make one question pop into your head – what the hell happened to the Farrelly brothers? The producers of this should have asked themselves the same thing then googled them, because this kind of material is right up their street. In their hands, they could have certainly cranked the laugh quota up a notch or two.

Ultimately though, what you get with The Goods is sadly anything but.