IT'S far from perfect, but this tidy little crime comedy very nearly succeeds in its unannounced ambition to be a 21st century Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) are a pair of fun-loving criminals who bust outta jail to begin a mission to accumulate enough cash to buy their way into paradise and open a restaurant/nightclub down Mexico way. And their specialist crime is... bank robbing.

Travelling from town to town, kidnapping the manager of the local bank at home in the evening, then taking him to work in the morning and relieving him of the safe contents, they earn the nickname The Sleepover Bandits.

A TV show turns them into celebrities amid newspapers reporting their easy charm, good manners and goodwill towards those they rob.

But Joe and Terry reckon without the interference of a woman's touch.

When distraught housewife Kate (Cate Blanchett) runs Terry over as he tries to hijack her car, the boys' robbing days are never the same. And so begins an outlandish menage a trois.

It all ends in a protracted set piece played perfectly by director Barry Levinson. A lesser talent would be all too ready to overcook the final scenes and smugly admire their crafty climax. Levinson lets it unfold at its own pace, not at all bothered by the fact viewers will be one step ahead of the picture the whole time. It's a joy.

In fact, there is plenty to get excited about throughout. Willis and Thornton are both individually excellent and, even though the chemistry between them is hardly sparkling, they make a convincing buddy-buddy partnership.

But it is Blanchett who almost steals the show. Not exactly known for her comedic talents, she is equally at home doing the scatty Goldie Hawn bit as the dry, cool Meryl Streep-ery - you get the impression there is another cut of this film in which she royally rules the roost.

Fresh and subtly original, Bandits offers a feelgood respite from Christmas shopping.