Jeremy Northam 80%

On paper, this film is dreadful. Two convicts (Northam and Zahn) escape from a chain gang, steal an RV from a gay couple who just happen to be beauty pageant organisers and hotfoot it to Happy, Texas, where they assume the identities of the couple they stole the van from. However, they haven't reckoned on growing attached to the locals they are attempting to con.

I said "on paper"...

On screen, however, this is a gem of a film, from the opening where Steve Zahn attacks a fellow con with a roadkill armadillo, yelling "The light is green!" to the final scene (you'll never hear a better version of Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet"...). Funny, warm, and unexpectedly moving at times, Happy, Texas more than lives up to its name.

Jeremy Northam and Steve Zahn play Harry and Wayne, cons on the run; a.k.a Steven and David - lovers and beauty pageant specialists - to the good ol' folks of Happy, who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a couple of pageant pros to help their little girls qualify for the Little Miss Fresh-Squeezed contest. Deciding to pose as the couple while they wait to rob the bank, Harry and Wayne find themselves drawn in by Happy. Zahn, in particular, is hilarious as he teaches the girls dance-routines, sews the costumes and is seduced by a thrilled Miss Schaeffer (Ileanna Douglas, proving that her star turn in Grace of the Heart was no one-off) after the girls qualify. Meanwhile Harry is falling for Jo the bank-manager, and breaking hearts in his turn when Chappie the sheriff (William H. Macy) asks him on a date. They go line-dancing - one of the funniest scenes in the movie. Northam looks gorgeous throughout (oddly enough, apart from one rabbit-hunting scene where he is almost unrecognisable under a baseball cap - heavy night, Jeremy?), particularly in a suit, and is such a charmer you have no trouble believing the whole town would fall for him.

Everyone in this movie is excellent. Zahn and Douglas steal the show, but the rest of the cast is equally good. Suspend your disbelief, enjoy the sharp, funny dialogue and prepare to have your cockles warmed.

• Bonuses: Steve Zahn and William H. Macy are superb, as always, and add credibility to the storyline; Swamp Thing from Con Air as the bad guy; Jeremy in a suit; the date
• Weaknesses: Er... hardly any, really. Just rent it, will you?