A package vacation to the Italian Adriatic is the vehicle for ‘Holiday Makers’ — a Czech comedy which, after a modest start, builds into an enjoyable and well observed treat.

The scene is set by the long bus trip there, which is marshalled by Karol and Karol, two maudlin bus drivers who obsess about the return of the plastic cup holders.

Meanwhile the cynical passengers are cajoled into jollity by the guide Pamela, who is as irritating as she is sexy.

Casting a wry eye over proceedings is the central character Jolana, whose parents occasionally break off from bickering to shatter her self esteem and then query why she is still single.

There’s a gay couple and a homophobic man and wife whose son has his own unanswered questions about his sexuality. Completing the scene are the cynical teen girls, a batty old woman intent on revisiting the scene of her honeymoon and Max, the womanising one-hit wonder singer.

It’s the bus drivers who provide the main laughs on the long journey as they debate the optimum time to let passengers off for toilet breaks — “Give them 20 minutes and you wait for half the bus — then you’ve lost authority.”

Things warm up at the beach with the teen girls competing for the romantic attentions of the watertube instructor — more out of one- upmanship than lust. Jolana hunts Max who hunts Pamela and most people end up frustrated during one farcical bed-hopping night.

But the comedy never veers into cheesy slapstick. Indeed there is a certain poignancy about some of the scenes, which set ‘Holiday Makers’ apart, aided by some delightful Italian scenery.

Jiri Vejdelek’s film is based on a novel by the contemporary Czech writer, Michal Viewegh. And clearly the pair know a thing or two about conjuring up comic characters without veering into stereotypes — thus Max is slightly vain but still has some depth, while Jolana remains the unsung heroine of the group, holding it all together.

After each joke the viewer is never left thinking: “Yeh, that was funny, but it would never happen.”

Despite their antagonisms there is a believable bond amongst most of the group while the dialogue touches on some serious subjects such as unemployment, ageing and alcoholism without slowing down the pace.

Both wistful and witty, ‘Holiday Makers’ is a winner.