I believe I have seen every film with Jack Black in it because of his funny and charismatic presence - and when he displays his acting range (Bernie), it's a treat. I did not expect The D Train to be very good, I just wanted to see Jack Black busting out some chops. Jack Black does give a good performance, but the film is a tonal mess.

The trailer implies that this film is a buddy movie of sorts, and a standard easy-to-consume comedy - the sort that Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis would be in. Instead, it's Jack Black (Dan) and James Marsden ( "Lawless") in a film that starts out as a run-of-the-mill comedy and turns into a supposedly funny exploration of the less-explored side of male sexuality.

The cast are great, all funny comic actors, but not necessarily used well - the film seems like it wants to be a comedy with all these big names, but it also feels like it wants to do a Skeleton Twins. James Marsden plays the cool guy who doesn't like labels when it comes to sexuality well, but his character isn't very developed. Jack Black's character becomes more and more unlikeable as the film goes on, but at least he doesn't get off the hook.

Perhaps if I had read some more about the film before watching it I would have felt less like I was struck by a ball from left field. Spoiler ahead: After a crazy night out in L.A., "Lawless" 'seduces' Dan. The morning after, Dan is slightly traumatised and utterly confused, and a two-second shot of the previous night confirms the audience that yes, that's exactly what happened.

The thing is, a film exploring sexuality in this sense could have worked great - if the characters were better drawn out and there wasn't an unnecessary subplot about a business deal and the film was a pitch-black comedy à la Todd Solondz.

In the end, this film is more memorable than most comedies of this genre because of it's surprising mix of tones and ideas - unfortunately, it comes at the cost of quality.