A Hollywood film that uses conjoined twins as the subject matter for a slapstick caper has been criticised by disability awareness campaigners for being crass and tasteless.
The Farrelly brothers, well-known for lowest-common-denominator comedies such as Shallow Hal and There's Something About Mary, have been accused of going too far with their latest offering.
Stuck on You, released in the United States next Wednesday, tells the story of the conjoined twins Bob and Walt, and stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. The pair get into all the scrapes one might expect in a Farrelly brothers production: one is having sex while the other wants to study; one is on the inside of a bus while the other is on the outside.
They declare: "We're not Siamese - we're American!"
In an interview with Variety magazine, Peter Farrelly insisted his latest film did not make fun of disability.
"These guys are winners," he said. "They are never victims. The key to all of our films is that they had heart. This is especially true in Stuck on You."
However, after viewing a trailer for the film, to be released in Britain next year, Avis Johns, the head of communications at the disability charity John Grooms, described it as a "crass snapshot" of the lives of conjoined twins.
"Hollywood doesn't have a good record of promoting disabled people within the film industry. The release of Stuck on You doesn't do anything to challenge this poor record.
"We'd have welcomed efforts to promote disabled people to the attention of movie goers. However, our fears are that this production will do nothing to normalise the issues and could compound societal oppression of disabled people by stigmatising them as acceptable targets to laugh at.
"It's time the movie industry woke up to a world where disabled people are included at all stages of the film-making process, on and off camera, and not blandly represented as objects of fun or pity."
Lewis Spitz, professor of paediatric surgery at Great Ormond Street hospital, London, and an authority on the separation of conjoined twins, said such a disability "should not be subject of a humorous movie".
Stuck on You has also become a talking point on Rotten Tomatoes, a website devoted to films. "This is a sick movie," writes one contributor. "Yeah, the Farrelly brothers are good, and Dumb and Dumber is one of my favourite movies, but this is disgusting."
In a reference to Ladan and Laleh Bijani, the Iranian-born conjoined twins who died in July as a result of surgery to separate them, another contributor calls the film a disgrace and asks: "Does anyone realise that those two girls who were joined at the head just died?"
Some defend the film. "Those girls died due to complications in surgery to be separated on the wishes of their parents," says one fan. "What, we should have no war films because people died? If anything, the movie could be a celebration of conjoined people."
Bobby and Peter Farrelly are no strangers to controversy. Me, Myself and Irene was targeted by critics three years ago for what they claimed was its negative portrayal of mental illness. Shallow Hal, featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, made fun of obesity, while Dumb and Dumber was based on characters with low intelligence.
Laughing all the way to the bank
Shallow Hal US box office: $71m
Hal has no luck with women because he only wants to date those who look like supermodels in this 2001 film. He is then hypnotised by a self-help guru and programmed to be less superficial and to only see a woman's inner beauty.
When he meets Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), a Peace Corps volunteer who is smart and funny, he falls in love and is totally unaware that she is obese.
Me, Myself and Irene US box office: $91m
When he forgets to take his medication, Charlie - a docile Rhode Island state trooper with multiple personality disorder - finds himself fighting over the same woman with his violent, sexually agressive alter-ego, Hank.
The film, which was released in 2000, had mental health advocates up in arms because of what they felt was a negative portrayal of mental illness.
There's Something About Mary (1998) US box office: $176m
A man gets a chance to meet up with his dream girl from high school in this 1998 comedy, even though his date with her back then was a complete disaster.
Dumb and Dumber US box office: $127m
Two dim-witted men embark on a road trip (1994) with a briefcase full of cash in search of the woman of their dreams.
