There are certainly not many laughs in Billy Connolly's latest role. I saw the new X Files movie last night and was surprised to see the Big Yin playing a part whose description can basically be described as PPP – psychic paedophile priest. Now if only Connolly was doing his stage act just imagine the fun he would have with just one of those things, never mind all three.

Unfortunately he plays it completely straight. The movie opens with the Scottish comedian leading a line of policemen through some snowy wastes, hunting for a corpse. It is a tantalising start and easily Connolly's best scene, his greying locks flowing in the wind as he sniffs out the buried body.

After that though, he doesn't seem to do much and fizzles out of the plot. Perhaps he had to go on tour. Perhaps he asked for a pay rise. Perhaps director Chris Carter just forgot about him. Needless to say it's another case of a comedian annoying his fans by playing it straight when we all want him to play it for laughs. See also Robin Williams in Insomnia, which also featured a lot of snow and not much ho ho ho.

The oddest thing about Connolly, however, was not his lack of gags, but his lack of trademark beard. Maybe it had to go to stop him looking like an off-duty hippy Father Christmas. Without it he looks weirdly like John Cleese in a big white wig. Which, now I come to think about it, is easily the funniest thing about this OK-ish bit-like-a-long-TV-episode movie.