Starring Tim Meadows and Will Ferrell
Tim Meadows fills the role of “The Ladies Man,” (Paramount, R), a movie that runs on the steam of an often-funny skit but runs out of gas after moments of chuckles. The disintegration of another “SNL” skit finally might be the death knell for the knock-off skit movie. We can only hope.
But fault doesn’t necessarily lie with Meadows, an underrated performer who has stuck with the show through many painful casting choices. This movie never should have been made.
Meadows stars as Leon Phelps, a stuck-in-the-’70s player of hearts in modern times. The radio personality keeps night owls company with a raunchy advice program, focusing on many ways to advocate a wide variety of sex.
A randy poem breaks the prudent station’s back, resulting in the firing of Phelps and his producer, Julie (Karyn Parsons). A journey through a variety of unfunny job interviews gives a glimpse into Phelps’ decked-out houseboat, outlandishly strewn with a variety of campy decorations.
It’s through this type of humor that the movie hits the funny bone, but that humor is rarely used. Instead of creating a fantasy world and not commenting on its weirdness, the movie goes for the easy joke, exemplifying the carelessness of the scriptwriting.
While Phelps is down on his luck, a gang of husbands and boyfriends, led by Will Ferrell, organize over the Internet to fight Phelps, the seducer who takes away their women. A whole mess of ugly men from cult-followed shows (such as the fat guy from “Herman’s Head”) aim to bring down the man of tumescent loins, symbolic of the dorky white guy’s efforts to bring down the disco culture.
Meanwhile, a love story develops because something needes to combat the meaningless sex scenes. A letter from an unknown former fling leads Phelps on a chase for riches because that’s what he wants from a woman. The stench of an ignorant-turned-humble climax is stronger than incense in a windowless flat.
The majority of the laughs come from Ferrell, who relishes in the weird bad-guy role that punctuates many of his “SNL” characters, such as his outlandish John Rocker. Tarnishing his efforts to thrill are annoying overtones of homosexuality, placed for cheap, vulgar laughs.
But, honestly, nonexistent expectations allow producer Lorne Michaels to make cheap, efficient movies while the television show is on break that most likely will break even after video sales. Gems such as “Wayne’s World” succeeded by building a series of situations that focused on the characters rather than just taking different aspects of the character and blowing them out of cinematic proportions.
A new approach? Create a movie, cast many of the “SNL” actors and former actors looking for food money before E! television does a “True Hollywood Stories” on them, and hire scriptwriters willing to work on a project that may not have a built-in audience but has a better chance to prosper artistically. The cast hasn’t been the problem. The writers have become complacent, and sharp wit has been rounded at the edges.
Or, keep making schlock like “The Ladies Man” and revel in awfulness, feeling like a fresh player slapped across the face by a self-respecting audience.
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