"The Sweetest Thing" proves that sisters really are doing it for themselves.

After the endless stream of male protagonist gross-out comedies - from "American Pie" to "Freddy Got Fingered" - this movie turns the tables on the boys with a trio of sassy heroines who aren't afraid to get their hands (among other things) dirty in the search for true love.

Cameron Diaz (a veteran of gross-out since the hair gel gag in "There's Something About Mary") plays Christina, a go-getting single girl whose golden rule is: don't search for Mr Right, concentrate on Mr Right Now.

When she meets Peter (Jane), though, her rules go out of the window (along with her dignity) as she and her two best friends (Applegate and Blair) try and find out if he's 'the one'.

Forget the title, this movie definitely ain't sweet. Diaz gets a penis in the eye, there's a string of female genitalia jokes, an excruciatingly embarrassing dry cleaners' scene (where Blair arrives with a semen-stained dress), and a protracted song and dance routine called "The Penis Song" that's been added to beef up the short running time - it was cut from the American version after negative reactions from test audiences.

The overriding effect of watching these actresses debase themselves is the cinematic equivalent of a motorway car wreck... it's horrific, but you want to see if anyone will escape unscathed.

With its three stars and female screenwriter (who was once a writer on the South Park cartoon), "The Sweetest Thing" wants to show that even in the realm of gross-out, equality can exist.

In reality, though, all it proves is that sometimes girls are just as dumb (but certainly no dumber) than the boys.