The Ladies Man
Saying that "The Ladies Man" is the best movie spawned from "Saturday Night Live" in quite some time is sort of like grading the quality of dog doo.After all, this sporadically funny comedy's competition in that department has been such stinkers as "A Night at the Roxbury," "Superstar" and, worst of all, "It's Pat: The Movie" — all of which couldn't hold up at sketch length, much less that of a feature film.
But even though this one has a few laugh-worthy scenes, it's still nowhere near as amusing as either "Wayne's World" or "The Blues Brothers," the benchmarks by which all SNL-related movies must be judged.
The title character is Leon Phelps (Tim Meadows), a late-night radio-show host who believes he's God's gift to women. However, his exasperated producer, Julie (Karyn Parsons), is trying to keep him muzzled before he gets fired.
But those efforts go all for naught, and the two are soon looking for work. While Julie hopes to land them another radio gig, Leon is off looking for a wealthy former conquest.
At the same time, Leon's being stalked by the husbands of his many "special ladies," who are hoping to exact their revenge on him.
The material here is nothing new, but it's done in a surprisingly fresh manner by director Reginald Hudlin, who makes sure it goes by pretty quickly and in not too painful a manner. (And his staging of a "West Side Story"-style song-and-dance number is particularly inspired.)
Meadows fares slightly better as an actor, though his slightly lisped delivery gets pretty annoying. And of the supporting cast, the only one who seems to be having much fun is Billy Dee Williams, who also serves as the film's narrator.
"The Ladies Man" is rated R for crude sex gags, sight gags and sex talk, male and female nudity, violence (most slapstick), simulated sex and scattered profanity. Running time: 87 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com