IF THE laughometer (and not just Christopher Guest's guitar amp) in This Is Spinal Tap went to 11, this latest send-up comedy from Guest creates only a minor squall of noise - albeit mostly affectionate.

Guest and his troupe of reliables (which includes The Simpsons' Harry Shearer and Michael McKean from the Spinal Tap days) have previously spoofed New York theatre, pedigree dog breeders and folk music. The lampoon here zooms in on the personnel surrounding an independent movie, as it becomes the subject of Oscar hoopla. Catherine O'Hara gives a great comic turn as Marilyn Hack, a faded, dowdy actress turned overnight Botox diva after internet gossip suggests she might get an Oscar nomination. While Morley Orfkin (Eugene Levy) is a big-talking, small-time agent for Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer), a journeyman actor better known for his hot dog commercials who learns he too could get the nod.

The improvisations feel a little collared, but there are moments of great hilarity - particularly any time Fred Willard's outrageous TV anchorman is on the screen.

But with such an experienced gang, I was expecting this Hollywood satire to be sharp as a tack - certainly Guest and company would know how to prick a few egos. But it is played very safe - the humour is inoffensively broad, while most of the hackneyed characters are too soft-footed to stamp any Hollywood toes.