"The book is way better," is what I wish I could say about this layered whirlwind of a film. But like many people who will see Tristram Shandy, I have yet to devour Laurence Sterne' ambitious 18th century novel on which this odd little movie is based. Come to think of it, "based" is probably not the best word to describe the relationship between the two mediums. The film-recently released in NY and LA-is not an adaptation, but rather a movie about the making of a movie based on the "unfilmable" novel. It' even more complicated than that, making Shandy both highly appealing and occasionally irritating.

The whole thing begins with Steve Coogan (playing the part of actor Steve Coogan) putting on a fake nose. The nose is that of Tristram Shandy, just one of Coogan' three characters in the film (he also plays Tristram' father). In the movie that' being made, Tristram is the narrator of his own life story, and in the behind-the scenes portions, Coogan is the main character.

Still with me? Good, 'cause it' only gonna get harrier.

Next comes a chaotic scene from the movie-in-progress involving a young Tristram, the boy' penis and a windowsill. During all this, the older Tristram is onscreen acknowledging the movie being made. So it, too, is a meta-film, giving the overall product a healthy coat of self-awareness. Such winking at the audience-it could be detected as early as the opening credits-echoes the tone of the novel (according to Professor Wikipedia).