IT'S 1924 and a group of rich and carefree celebs have gathered on the luxury yacht of newspaper tycoon William Randoph Hurst (Edward Herrmann) for the party to end all parties.

It seems all these dancing darlings have several things in common. They all take copious amounts of drugs, they leap up from the dinner table in a flash if someone so much as mentions the ridiculous Charleston dance and anyone who's anyone is having an affair.

Hurst, who is married with children, is having a long-term affair with Hollywood starlet Marion Davis (Kirsten Dunst) who is having passionate relations with Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard) who is engaged to someone else - but who also seems quite willing to form sexual alliances with anyone boasting a pulse.

Hurst discovers Marion's relationship with Chaplin and, blind with jealousy, goes after him with a pistol. Unfortunately he gets the wrong man and his closest allies then set about the most ludicrous cover-up job ever.

The acting from some, particularly Izzard and Dunst, is excellent but the script at times made the characters entirely unbelievable. But perhaps this merely reflected the fickle and shallow nature of these celebs.

HC