It's Girls' Night Out for Cameron Diaz and her pals in this raunchy-but-hilarious romantic comedy.

They say that drama is easy and comedy is hard. Admittedly, it doesn’t take much more than some disgusting bodily humor to entertain your average male viewer. The Sweetest Thing has more than its share of gross-out gags, but, when at its best, it’s an impeccable exercise in the classic screwball comedies of old.

Meet Christina Walters (the effortlessly effervescent Cameron Diaz). She’s a player. She knows the game, and she uses it to get any man she wants. Her friend, Courtney (Christina Applegate), is a pro at the game too, while Jane (Selma Blair) is just learning.

After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Jane and the girls decide it’s time for a night out at the club. Christina is immediately trying to hook Jane up with someone new, while Courtney is off trying to pick up a sexy stranger. Christina and Jane meet Peter Donahue (Thomas Jane), a charming guy who detests the former right from the start for her coarseness and cocky attitude.

Despite the disdain that exists between them, Christina finds herself drawn to Peter, and the feeling is likewise for Peter. He invites her to a bachelor party, which she assumes is that of his brother (Jason Bateman). Choosing not to go, Christina finds herself unable to think of anything but Peter. Therefore, she and Courtney decide to set out and find Peter, before it’s too late. On their quest, they discover that it’s Peter who is the one getting married. Now, Christina must find a way to let Peter know how she feels before he’s gone for good.

The Sweetest Thing isn’t exactly as the title implies, but it comes close enough to that to constitute one of the funniest films of the year. Gross-out humor walks the extremely fine line between funny and disgusting, and this picture can be both. Thankfully, the latter is the exception.

Thing isn’t all about gross-out gags after all; it’s also a genuinely funny, uproariously entertaining film that brings its audience back to the wonderfully madcap comedies of yesteryears. The situations the characters find themselves in are almost always one hundred percent implausible, but, for Christina, it’s all in the name of love. The extremes to which she goes in pursuit of this one man with whom she shared a few wacky moments are ridiculous. But then again, when did love ever make sense?

The casting is wonderful in the film. Cameron Diaz seems born to play these kinds of roles: Quirky, fun-loving gals who simply ooze with sexiness. Then again, there are the more dramatic roles she takes on (like in last year’s Vanilla Sky), where she proves what a talented and versatile actress she is.

As Christina’s sidekicks, Christina Applegate and Selma Blair have their moments to shine, but generally take a backseat to Diaz. Thomas Jane, as the love interest, isn’t given as much to do with his part as the women are, but it is a fine performance nevertheless. The usually brilliant Parker Posey appears briefly in a thankless role, but look for Richard Denni as the grumpy gramps to steal every scene he’s in.

Roger Kumble’s direction is not particularly inspired, but it’s a decent job. The screenplay’s developments are predictable, but its laughs are unadulterated comic genius.

The film is short, which is good because the last twenty minutes or so really start to drag. Nevertheless, The Sweetest Thing is a hysterically funny frenzy of zany characters and wild circumstances that, despite this critic’s better judgment, earns a more than passing grade.