Movie Title: The Ladies Man
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Writer: Tim Meadows, Dennis McNicholas, and Andrew Steele
Starring: Tim Meadows, Karyn Parsons, Billy Dee Williams, John Witherspoon, Jill Talley, Lee Evans, Will Ferrell, Sofia Milos, Eugene Levy, David Huband, Ken Hudson Campbell, Kevin McDonald, Tamala Jones, Julianne Moore, Tiffani Thiessen, Mark McKinney, Chris Parnell
Review: Hey, what's happening, and welcome to The Ladies Man. The love line with all the right responses to your romantic queries. Get ready for radio host and irresistible love machine Leon Phelps, clad in disco duds, with Courvoisier in hand, to share his unique brand of expertise in the sweet realm of love and doing it. Ooh, yeah! It's time for... The Ladies Man.
Back in the late '90s, Tim Meadows "The Ladies Man" SNL sketch was definitely a favorite. It was certainly Meadows' character's sweet-natured, yet completely misguided romantic advice that made this the sketch some popular, memorable, and hilarious. And all of that is used to great effect in the movie version, but being a movie with an "R" rating the filmmakers could push the boundaries far beyond that of late-night network television.
The character of Leon Phelps is really a good guy that just doesn't quite fit in with the current times. When he comes to the aid of Karyn Parsons' Julie, Leon makes a connection. They enjoy each other's company and I did too. They were great together on-screen and are fun to watch. Especially because she is more aware of him than he is of himself. And having the sexy, smooth Billy Dee Williams as Phelps' friend Lester the bartender, and narrator of our story, it really gives our hero validation. If Billy Dee vouches for you what else do you need?
The movie is very funny and silly with Leon Phelps being the butt of many of the jokes. Ha-Ha, the butt! The only weak link is the plot with Will Ferrell and his mob of furious husbands, all of which have a run-in with Leon because he had a run-in with their wives - I thank you! It doesn't really fit the rest of the story and gives us a villain of sorts, but is nowhere near as interesting as Leon's misadventures on the radio or on his back. Man, I'm on fire today!
So, if you're looking for love and laughter in all the wrong places, watch The Ladies Man and it will satisfy all of your entertainment desires. Ooh, yeah!
Fun Fact: Pitcher David Wells appeared in a scene, but it was deleted.