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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 16.46%
Worth A Look: 20.25%
Just Average: 15.19%
Pretty Crappy: 21.52%
Sucks: 26.58%
7 reviews, 37 user ratings
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| Ladies Man, The |
by Andrew Howe
"Meet the schlock jock."
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One of the sub-plots in The Ladies Man concerns a mob of cuckolded husbands who have made it their life’s mission to castrate the title character. That is exactly what I’d like to do to the film itself, for the thought of this senseless waste of celluloid begetting others of its ilk is enough to make me lay my head on the block and pay the headsman for a quick and painless death.Leon Phelps (Tim Meadows) is the 70’s-style host of a radio talk-back program who dispenses offensive “advice” on sexual matters to his desperate and disillusioned listeners. Upsetting your audience can be detrimental to your health (check out Talk Radio if you don’t believe me), but the worst fate the gods visit upon Phelps is a summary sacking. The remaining running time chronicles his quest for gainful employment, which opens the way for such side-splitting episodes as a nun revealing that she’s about to assume “a missionary position”; a wrestler waxing lyrical about his buddy’s firm, oiled body (these interludes – and there’s more than one, God help us – make Monty Python and The Holy Grail look like a case study in subtlety); and a song-and-dance routine by our loveable gang of gelders which reminds us why creative bankruptcy should be a capital offence.
I’ve never been a fan of the “farce” brand of comedy, and the efforts which rise above the sludge (Mystery Men, Galaxy Quest and Dogma, to name a few recent examples) are invariably blessed with solid casts and a degree of originality. Ladies Man, on the other hand, comes across as exactly what it is, which is a Saturday Night Live sketch extended well past its use-by date. A strong narrative spine is not strictly necessary for a comedy, but if I wanted to subject myself to a collection of skits I’d rent Amazon Women on the Moon, which never claimed to be anything more than it was.
As you watch the narrative shamble from one uninspired set piece to the next, you may find yourself experiencing an inescapable sense of déjà vu. This is because the scriptwriters have lifted much of the “humour” from British television comedies of the 70’s (with the odd nod to the likes of Wayne’s World), and the saddest thing is that most of the original material wasn’t worth pillaging in the first place. The physical element hinges on lowbrow trash, the dialogue is unburdened by the slightest trace of wit or vitality (the scriptwriters throw around words like “dick” and “doggie-style” with the abandon of a primary school student who has just discovered what they mean), and the actors wear the look of cash-starved performers who wish they were somewhere else (with the exception of Meadows, who obviously knows his limitations).Since my therapist has advised me to try and foster a little more positive energy, I offer the following in the film’s defence – it’s not as offensive as it could have been (there’s only one scene which belongs in a gross-out comedy), and I did crack a smile on at least two occasions. That works out at seven bucks apiece, however, so you’d be better off contemplating the non-existent future of everyone who had anything to do with this lacklustre excuse for entertainment. It’s a cheap shot, but the funniest things in life often are.
link directly to this review at http://hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=1774&reviewer=193
originally posted: 07/22/01 23:47:43
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USA
13-Oct-2000 (R)
UK
N/A
Australia
31-Mar-2001
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