It is hard not to watch Mascots without thinking of other films and TV programmes. Director Christopher Guest is most famous for his involvement in the Rob Reiner-directed This Is Spinal Tap and in some ways he has never quite improved on that.

Mascots, co-written by Guest and Jim Piddock, is set in the world of competitive sports mascots - no, me neither – and follows the various entrants at the 8th World Championships in Anaheim, California. Among the entrants competing for the Gold Fluffy is Tom Bennett as South Croydon's Owen Golly - alias Sid The Hedgehog – who is loyally supported by his wife Sarah, played by Kerry Godliman. Elsewhere we meet oddbeat Cindi “Alvin the Anteater” Babineaux, Chris O’Dowd as Tommy “The Fist” Zuccarello and many more.

Now I know that a lot of work has clearly gone into this film but in some ways the comedy almost writes itself. The absurd often oversized costumes are made for visual comedy and just seeing various cartoonish yet human creatures wandering around in the background can raise a laugh as the film builds to the final showdown between the rivals.

But there are also various niggles here. As well as recalling This Is Spinal Tap in its documentary style Mascots also recalls in particular Guest’s earlier works. Best in Show kind of did the same thing for the dog-owner world, while Guest himself crops up in a cameo as as badly bewigged harem-panted camp consultant Corky St Clair who was also in Waiting for Guffman. The presence of a lot of Guest regulars – Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Junior among others – is nice but also increases the sense of deja vu. 

Thanks in part to Guest himself this style of reality comedy is becoming way too overfamiliar now. (I was going to say it has jumped the shark, but I think jumped the shark has jumped the shark if you know what I mean). Ricky Gervais has often paid homage to Guest and Spinal Tap for influencing The Office and now the shadow of Gervais hangs over Guest’s work. There is more than a hint of David Brent in Owen Golly’s deadpan delivery.

There is also - by coincidence – some Gervais-style politically incorrect humour here, most notably in the scenes featuring idiot manager Greg Gammons (another Guest regular Fred Willard). In fact there are a lot of idiots in this film. It treads a very thin line between being affectionate about eccentrics and cruelly ripping the piss out of them.

But on the plus side there are some great performances and some strong laughs. Chris O’Dowd as bad boy of the mascot world Tommy is as good as ever even if he does over-egg the Irish accent at times. But the final shots of his character don’t feel very well filmed. One can see the pay-off coming a mile away, whereas a tighter headshot might have worked better. But, hey, what do I know, I’m just a journalist, not the man who was Nigel Tufnel.

Available on Netflix now.