IN the sleepy seaside town of Torquay, lawn bowls is the sport of kings.

The local geriatric populace takes the pastime very seriously, almost like a religion - and no one more so than the area's reigning champion Ray Speight (James Cromwell), who believes that tradition must be upheld at any cost and the rules must be followed to the letter.

When flashy, arrogant and foul-mouthed newcomer Cliff Starkey (Paul Kaye) dares to challenge Ray's supremacy, the battle lines are drawn.

Cliff is a young pretender from the wrong side of town who smokes and drinks to excess, and loves to entertain the crowd with flash party tricks like his ability to bowl a wood on top of a cigarette paper from more than 30 feet away.

As Cliff and his glitzy American agent Rick (Vince Vaughn) transform the formerly stuffy game of lawn bowls into a television phenomenon, the enmity between Ray and Cliff reaches fever pitch.

Ray orchestrates Cliff's lifetime ban from the game, and seizes back his crown as the king of the Torquay greens.

This underhand move doesn't go down well with the national committee, nor with Cliff's girlfriend Kerry (Alice Evans), who just happens to be Ray's daughter.

Blackball follows the conventions of the sporting movie to the letter - the unlikely hero, the battle against adversity, and the rousing triumph against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Yet, the film fails to hit its target. There are plenty of laughs, but most are half-hearted chuckles, and the romantic subplot involving Cliff and Kerry barely simmers. Kaye is suitably irritating as the self-styled "John McEnroe" of lawn bowls, but never manages to win our sympathy.

In sharp contrast, Cromwell brings his old timer to life with some skill, showing the sadness and jealousy which drive Ray, before he sees the error of his ways.

Johnny Vegas offers lively support as Cliff's larger-than-life best mate, who is cruelly cast aside when fame and fortune come knocking, but he is given too little screen time to make sufficient impact.

See it at UCI, Odeon