THERE are three actresses who strike fear into my heart when I see their names or pathetic looking faces on the poster of a forthcoming release — Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez and Catherine Zeta Jones have ‘giant turkey’ written all over them.

Despite having started out as relative box office gold, this tragic trio are now desperately trying to stay afloat in the sea of dismal rom-coms which Hollywood has been relentlessly churning out recently.

The Rebound stars Mrs Michael Douglas (probably the least irritating of the three) and although the premise of the film is more original than most in the genre, it remains a disappointingly average and forgettable chick flick.

Jones stars as 40-year-old Sandy, who, after she discovers her husband has been cheating on her, moves with her two young children to New York.

But the big city is meaner than she thought and pressures from her new job lead her to hire a nanny.

Enter the flaky but adorable Aram (Justin Bartha).

From working as a barista in a coffee shop to being a human punching bag at a women’s self-defence group, the 24-year-old has tried just about every job under the sun but is still clueless about what he wants in life.

That is, until he meets Sandy, who hires him to look after her children while she slaves away at the office.

It’s not long before the two are flirting outrageously and secretly snogging on the sofa.

He’s the sensitive new man type whose great with kids and she’s a strong independent woman who knows what she wants and how to get it.

Sounds like the perfect match, but it’s not long before the age gap becomes an glaringly obvious problem for both parties.

The film gets off to a shaky start, but after an hour of clunky dialogue and cheap gags, it smooths out to become a gentle and good-natured comedy drama.

But despite strong performances and a surprisingly believable chemistry between the two leads, The Rebound too often feels like a mess.

The movie simply can’t make up its mind what it wants to be.

One minute it’s a screwball comedy and the next it’s a romantic drama.

The ending is also a disappointing damp squib and feels very much a last-minute thought.

There was a time when I looked forward to the arrival of a Hollywood rom-com.

But it feels like aeons since the studios gave us anything to rival the glory days of Pretty Woman and the more recent and brilliantly funny My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

So where did it all go wrong for the wholesome looking girl-next-door from Wales?

Once Jones was the darling of Hollywood, even winning an Oscar for her role in musical Chicago.

Now she’s stuck making lame, half-hearted comedies about dating younger men.

The Rebound is certainly not a disaster, but it could have been so much better.

The Rebound (15) is out tomorrow.