DIRECTOR Mel Smith owes a huge debt of gratitude to his casting director Kate Rhodes James.

Were it not for the electric pairing of Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack, this comedy thriller would be a dull affair indeed.

Casualty nurse Shannon (Driver) and struggling American actress Frances (McCormack) are close pals living in multi-cultural London.

One night, after a drunken night on the tiles, the girls overhear a mobile telephone conversation on a radio scanner about a bank heist in their neighbourhood.

Eager to cash in on this twist of fate, the lasses engineer a seemingly fail-safe plan to blackmail the crooks for a cool £2m.

Unfortunately, one wrong telephone call plunges them deep into a violent and unforgiving criminal underworld, run by hardened crook Kerrigan (Michael Gambon) and right-hand man Mason (Kevin McNally).

Soon, the best friends realise they have bitten off far more than they can chew, and they find themselves ensnared in a web of dirty tricks and murder.

With only their wits and their friendship to protect them, Shannon and Frances must decide whether to run for their lives or to give the boys a run for the money.

High Heels And Low Lifes is a jolly little romp, fusing slapstick with the guns and gangsters of the Lock, Stock... brigade.

The two actresses are sparky, spunky and sexy and gel so convincingly on-screen, you truly believe they are the best of friends.

Driver is an extremely accomplished comic actress and she radiates good humour as the downtrodden health worker with a heart of gold.

McCormack is an excellent foil, much more deadpan than her screen partner, and together they make Kim Fuller's screenplay seem much more uproarious than it really is.

Supporting cast is impressive although a bit more characterisation wouldn't have gone amiss.

Plotting is also wafer-thin and the film noticeably treads water before the slam-bang final showdown between the gals in stilettos and the hard men from the wrong side of the law.

Damon Smith