Lindsay Lohan's comeback in a Tv biopic about Dame Elizabeth Taylor has been slated by a critic for one of Hollywood's leading trade publications.

The troubled actress had hoped her role as the late screen legend in upcoming Tv movie Liz & DICk would turn her career around, but the film has been branded "an awful mess" in an early review by Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter.

Goodman compares the drama, about the Cleopatra star's tumultuous relationship with Richard Burton, to a spoof sketch on U.S. comedy show Saturday Night Live and calls the Mean Girls star "woeful as Taylor from start to finish".

He adds, "The talking part doesn't turn out so well for Lohan. There is not one minute in this film where she's believable," and claims one of the most dramatic scenes is "like a high school play".

However, the reviewer is sure the film will eventually gain a cult following, insisting, "Whatever you do, don't miss Liz & DICk. It's an instant classic of unintentional hilarity. Drinking games were made for movies like this. And the best part is that it gets worse as it goes on, so in the right company with the right beverages, Liz & DICk could be unbearably hilarious toward the tail end of the 90-minute running time."

Lohan recently revealed she had to fight to land her dream role as Taylor and even offered to star in the film for free.

Liz & DICk will premiere in the U.S. on 25 November (12).