The ladies man - Un homme à femmes

I'm probably one of the few who thought this movie was hilarious. I mean, how can you NOT laugh at Will Ferrell and Lee Evans breaking into a song about how they're going to beat up the title character ("the bastard's going to pay!") The movie gets funnier and stranger in the second hour, when anything resembling a plot was apparently tossed out the window. Leon Phelps is a unique Saturday Night Live creation. If you don't expect much (as I did going in), you may just find yourself in stitches. Granted, this is not the stuff of classic comedy, but it's not the "one star" comedy that most critics called it.

The fact that The Ladies Man originated from a skit on Saturday Night Live should surprise no one who has seen and disliked the film. The film feels exactly like a character who belongs in skits roughly five to eight minutes long, who will occasionally say something funny in those five to eight minutes, and then end on a comic-bang before the screenwriter decides to cut over to another sketch. The sad thing about The Ladies Man is it focuses on its title character (played by a clearly inspired Tim Meadows) for eighty long, often tedious minutes, completely deluding the character's comic effect because it must be referenced with almost every line he says.

I've discussed how tedious and often frustratingly unfunny Saturday Night Live films can often be (I wrote a whole blog on it three years back, so that should give an idea of how opinionated I was). Their main complaint links most of their films (with notable exceptions of the Wayne's World titles) in that they have difficultly giving their character's antics enough to do for a film's runtime. "The Ladies Man" character already has enough energy to be in a eighty minute film, but does he have the humor, plot, and charisma capabilities of carrying such precious minutes? How far does a sexist, afro-rockin' radio host go? The answer is not very far, but the film is at least buoyed by the competence and appeal of Tim Meadows, who can do no wrong in films as far as I'm concerned. His presence is casual and his attitude often laidback, even when he's playing a character as tiresome as this one. He plays Leon "The Ladies Man" Phelps, a studly black radio host who is known for his outspoken sexism on air during his nighttime show where he gives female callers shallow advice about relationships. The first thirty minutes of the film show his attitude and serve as nothing but a showcase for redundant jokes akin to that of modern Saturday Night Life sketches.

When the story finally does get going, it's lame and serves more as filler than as a significant plot. It follows a man who finds his wife cheating on him, only to spot a naked black man running outside his home with a smiley face tattooed on his rear. Turns out, there is a website dedicated to finding this man and a group of angry husbands meet up to try and track down the man who pleasures their wives. The result is a tiresome array of unfunny marital jokes and a predictable but slightly catchy song and dance number.

Tim Meadows (who serves as co-write on this film) is clearly inspired when playing "The Ladies Man." His personality is always energetic and here he plays a character he completely created and "perfected" himself. There is a genuine sense of fun and comfortableness when playing this role. The issue is that "The Ladies Man" is so thin and uninteresting as a character that he's more of an idea. In that regard, Meadows does a great job at playing an idea.

I return full circle to my point that I made in the beginning that stated that the films focuses on a character that feels exactly like he belongs in concise skits on Television. It's no surprise that after about fifteen minutes of laughing with and at the character, I began to be burdened with feelings of tedium. This only influences my point that a character with this personality belongs in shorts seventy-five minutes shorter than the film The Ladies Man.

Starring: Tim Meadows, Karyn Parsons, Billy Dee Williams, John Witherspoon, Will Ferrell, and Eugene Levy. Directed by: Reginald Hudlin.

Everyone should know this movie, everybody should watch this movie. Any man, any women. Leon Phelps, 'The Ladies man,' is cool, smooth and very funny. He has a cool job, and he gets the best women. Will Ferrell (S.N.L., Zoolander, Old school)adds great comedy value. The actor who played Norm from 'Something about Mary' plays alongside Ferrell as they are both victims their wives infidelity to Leon. With a small appearance by that dad from American Pie. And Valery from 'The Fresh Prince of Belair' is the producer of Leons talk show.

I found this little gem on 'Foxtel' one day and was addicted. I bought the dvd now and have watched it many times. It's one of my best movies in the collection with other greats like Predator, Monty Pythons 'Life of Brian' and every Pearl Jam D.V.D. there is.

The Ladies Man is a funny movie. There's not much thought behind it, but what do you expect from an SNL movie? It's actually better than most SNL movies (i.e. Superstar or A Night At The Roxbury) Tim Meadows and Will Ferrell were both very funny. Chris Parnell was also funny in his short scene (one of the funnier ones in the movie). Other than that, the rest of the cast is average and is just there to support Meadows. I've definitely seen funnier movies, but I've seen dumber ones too. Again, it's not exactly a deep movie, but it's good for a few laughs. It was funnier as a skit though. But still, if you're looking for a pretty funny movie, I'd recommend this one. Just don't think about it too much, or you'll hate it.

Rating: 6/10

The Ladies Man was never made to win awards, or put Tim Meadows at the top of the hottest actors list. What it was made to do, is to make you laugh. Now, if you are still interested in seeing this movie, please do so. Not only is Tim Meadows a riot as the fish sandwich eating, houseboat living, stud muffin, but "Wrestling" Will Ferrell, and the rest of the cast are great as well.

I'd give this movie 6 out of 10, just for the goofy jokes, and laughs it got out of me.