Bedtime Stories is one of those stories told at bedtime: safe, comforting and predictable. But there is a topping: it has Adam Sandler, a hero whose main virtue isn't his looks, kingdom or valour but a likeability that helps you overlook all of it.

Far from another Jumanji, any magic director Shankman tries to inject is squashed by Sandler's distressingly annoying turn, while Russell Brand and Keri Russell look uncomfortably crowbarred in.

It's a pleasing concept, and Sandler is at his least obnoxious, but surely Adam Shankman's family comedy could have been wittier.

While a film about dreams coming true should be enchanting and whimsical, this product will only mildly entertain in a dull and predictable way.