Four firm friends, Rooster (Tonderai), CJ (Oyelowo), Jess (Constance), and Chang (Crunski) want to make it big on the West London club scene. The only problem is they've hocked their decks, ripped off a Nigerian pornographer, and deeply upset the religious sensibilities of local crime boss Jesus (Kemp).

The boys must keep themselves out of trouble for long enough to find a few grand in spare change and a DJ gig. This forces them to think up various hare-brained cash-creating ideas - Rooster suggests selling maps of cash point locations, while the others steal books from the library and even kidnap the dog of a local best-selling author in the hope of getting a nice fat ransom.

Of course, they've got the wrong dog... and Jesus isn't too happy with them. The film does have a few choice moments - not least Alan Davies' cameo as a stoned pornographer - which suggests that writer/star Mark Tonderai and writer/director Moody Shoaibi should be given the benefit of the doubt.

Best of all, it's a story of inner city kids that manages to put London's multiculturalism onscreen without ever having to turn race into a dramatic issue or present West London as a gun-filled battleground of rival gangs.

Its heart is in the right place, but there's no escaping the fact that this is lightweight stuff.

"Dog Eat Dog" opens in cinemas UK on Friday 7th December 2001.