Juvenile and crude but funny too

21 Jump Street (2012) and its 2014 sequel 22 Jump Street were witty, endearing movie remakes of a vintage prime-time show.

Baywatch? It follows this year's CHiPS, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015), The A-Team (2010) et al among Hollywood's failed attempts.

The 1990s sun-and-surf drama centered on a bodacious squad of Los Angeles County lifeguards was one of the most successful television syndications, reaching 1.1 billion viewers weekly and making household names of resident hunk David Hasselhoff and Playboy playmate Pamela Anderson.

Paramount Pictures' action comedy adaptation directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) accentuates the cheesecake factor of cleavaged beach bunnies for cheap laughs. The very first gag has a horndog getting his over-excited manhood trapped between a sunbed.

It's that kind of a movie: juvenile and crude. And yet I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun. (Disclaimer: This reviewer's enjoyment was in no way prejudiced by the majestic spectacle of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's sculpted physique.)

The Baywatch corps have been relocated to fictional Emerald Bay, Florida, where Johnson, in the Hasselhoff role, is dedicated leader Lieutenant Mitch Buchannon. Sports Illustrated model Kelly Rohrbach replaces Anderson as blonde bombshell CJ Parker. Stephanie Holden (Ilfenesh Hadera) is Mitch's hyper-competent deputy.

With them are a couple of trainees: feisty Summer Quinn (Alexandra Daddario), and a chubby geek, Ronnie (Jon Bass), the victim of the earlier genital mishap brought on by his crush on CJ.

Zac Efron plays the third recruit, Matt Brody, an Olympic swimming hotshot, who became a disgrace for vomiting in the pool during the relay after a night of drunken partying. For Mitch, joining Baywatch is an honour; to the cocky, egotistic Matt, Baywatch is merely court-mandated probation for his misbehaviour. Matt is there to serve his time, work on his tan.

The two alphas clash, although not for long because a mogul villainess in the form of Bollywood beauty Priyanka Chopra has opened a ritzy beachfront nightclub to turn the coast into a gateway for her drug-smuggling operation. Protecting the bay is the Baywatch duty. Hence the team unite to stop the criminal master plan, exposing the blackmailing of politicians, murder, and, at the one point, a corpse's scrotum.

Like I said, it's that type of movie. The plot is skimpier than the swimsuits with generic aquatic stunts including a Jet Ski chase and an exploding yacht. Matt learns the Baywatch ethos of family. Even the "surprise" cameos are unsurprising.

But the frolic is in on the silliness, spoofing itself throughout the series' signature montages of the lifeguards running in jiggly slow-mo.

Most amusing, away from the formulaic story, is Johnson's and Efron's sparring in the central bromantic rivalry. Johnson with his sunbeam smile and absurd muscles is an irresistible comic star. Efron brings his own six-pack, which Matt uses to deflect Mitch's belittlement, calling him "Bieber" and "High School Musical", natch. Their machismo is slicked on so thick they have no need for Coppertone.

This update for all the boobs and babes is really about himbo Matt being the butt of the jokes. Whatever it may be, sexist it isn't. Consider that progress.

Rating: C+