Uma Thurman is a natural comedienne and perfect in the role of G-Girl in this spoof on superheroes - at least, from a woman's point of view.

The 36-year-old veteran of offbeat films like "Kill Bill", "Be Cool" and "Batman & Robin", Thurman keeps a straight face fairly well even when she goes through a bizarre sequence, like hurling a Great White on to a bed for instance.

The recent spate of superhero boxoffice films, including "Superman Returns", "The Incredibles" and the "X-Men" series, has shown that what works in comics does just as well on the screen.

But what Hanuman finds bewildering is the length of time it took for someone to see the potential crowd-pulling power of a plot like "My Super Ex-Girlfriend".

When Christopher Reeves played "Superman", the highlight of the film was his romance with reporter Louis Lane.

The movie went further than the comics in creating the scene where the couple spend a night together.

That romantic interlude explains Superman's son in the latest release.

But it has taken 30 years for human-superhero relationships to take the next step - in "Super Ex-Girlfriend", G-Girl reverses the "Superman" plot, shacking up with Luke Wilson, the male Lois Lane, if you will.

Complicating matters somewhat, Wilson takes the advice of a friend, a know-it-all romance counsellor played by Rainn Wilson.

When Rainn tells him to break up with Thurman, the poor boyfriend nearly gets killed, literally.

You see, G-Girl is emotionally unsteady - think "Fatal Attraction" with superpowers thrown in.

The director who opens this bag of potential laughs is Ivan Reitman, best known for feel-good family comedies like "Ghostbusters".

"My Super Ex-Girlfriend" is his first feature since "Six Days Seven Nights", a romantic epic with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche that bombed when it hit screens eight years ago.

In many ways, "Super Ex-Girlfriend" is a comeback film for Reitman, who virtually sunk without trace after producing modest hits like "Beethoven", "Twins" and "Kindergarten Cop".

The biggest hitch with spoofs is the tendency to give away too much before they reach the big screen. Over the past two months, the trailers for "Super Ex-Girlfriend" have probably spoiled a lot of the surprises and funny moments for many viewers.

The trick is to hit the button on the TV remote when a trailer for the comedy is being run, so that you don't get too familiar with it.

The same goes for "Snakes on a Plane", last week's big release. The less you know about it, the more thrilling the surprises will be.

By Hanuman