By
Ian Caruth
Arizona Daily Wildcat
"The Ladies Man" rubs audiences the right way
Somehow, somewhere, a pact with Satan is surely responsible for the spate of movies adapted from "Saturday Night Live" skits. Perhaps best exemplified by the Butabi brothers' opus, "A Night At the Roxbury," "SNL" movies take skits that are barely funny in their original seven-minute incarnations, tack on a plot that would seem ridiculous in a porn flick, add cameos from faded celebrities, and ride the resultant film to rollicking success - in an alternate universe.
An "SNL" film is usually an unmitigated entertainment disaster, which makes "The Ladies Man" quite puzzling - it is actually funny and charming, if a little rough-edged. Tim Meadows plays titular character Leon Phelps, a radio call-in talk show host who dispenses questionable advice - "I recommend doing it doggystyle" - about the romantic arts. Adopted and raised from infancy by Hugh Hefner, Phelps is a screaming fashion anachronism, sporting a '70s-era pimp wardrobe and one of the finest, most spherical afros committed to film since Dr. J retired.
Despite his lack of sartorial savvy, Phelps is a spectacularly successful pick-up artist, with a registry of conquests as big as the Chicago phone book. His unlikely skill with the ladies is the film's main running joke, as he is largely devoid of any attractive qualities- Phelps is short, crude, and really, really skanky, but his boundless optimism and goofball nature somehow allows him to bed nearly every woman who comes within pick-up line range.
After being fired from his radio job for what can charitably be described a variety of FCC violations, Leon is unable to find work outside of the bedroom. In a miraculous stroke of luck - slyly self-parodied with some clever writing - the Ladies Man receives just what he has been waiting for: a letter from a past conquest promising riches beyond his wildest dreams, as well as the rocking of Leon's world.
The catch - the letter is unsigned, so Leon must sort through his considerable back catalogue to determine the identity of his lost paramour. Matters are complicated somewhat by a gang of cuckolded husbands - led by the latently homosexual Greco-Roman wrestler Lance ("SNL"'s Will Ferrell) -who seek to castrate unsuspecting Leon, or at least oil him up and grapple him into submission.
Will Leon be neutered? Will he find love? Will he employ slow-jams and scented lotions in his pursuit of happiness? The answers to these and more burning questions lay within the movie's 84-minute running time.
Meadows and Ferrell are both gifted performers, and their skills help move the film through a few slow stretches. Just as an episode of "Saturday Night Live" can be both hilarious and horrible, "The Ladies Man" has copious laughs and a few scenes that are sort of unbearable, including the 759th unnecessary feces joke of the last 10 years.
But like a little kid who says a dirty word, the film seems more cute than offensive. Sure, the jokes are built on a flimsy premise, the acting is occasionally awful, and the script seems like a random assemblage of at least three unrelated movies. "The Ladies Man" is usually at least mildly amusing, and is hilarious at times. Like the guy with the gold medallion at the end of the bar, "The Ladies Man" is good for a few laughs - just don't expect the best you've ever had.
