`LAST DANCE' TAKES ONE MISSTEP AFTER ANOTHER.

Byline: Amy Dawes Daily News Film Critic

Poor Sharon Stone. Sean Penn in ``Dead Man Walking'' had God on his side when he faced his executioners; Stone has only Rob Morrow.

In ``Last Dance,'' Stone plays Cindy Liggett, a Death Row inmate who as a wild, orphaned and drug-addled 19-year-old, slashed two teen-agers to death during a burglary.

Twelve years later, her number's up, and though considerably mellowed by her years in the stable environment of the pen, she's accepted her sentence and simply wants to die on her own terms.

Then along comes Morrow as a ne'er-do-well rich kid who brings with him no Bible but enough personal baggage to try the patience of Job.

Morrow plays Rick Hayes, a neophyte attorney in the office of the state clemency board, whose job as a functionary for a pro-death penalty Southern governor (Jack Thompson) is to rubber-stamp the cases of Death Row inmates who've exhausted their appeals.

A sweetly befuddled type who golfed and partied his way through life until his father's business crashed, Hayes suddenly has awakened with a social conscience and a burning desire to be taken seriously.

His slickly pragmatic brother (Peter Gallagher), who's an up-and-comer in the governor's office, sets him up with a job and expects him to act sensibly.

But Rick goes on a bender with his very first case, determining that the brittle and dignified Cindy Liggett (Stone) can and should be saved.

Never mind that Cindy tells him right off the bat that she'd rather be executed than face the alternative - life without parole. It's in one ear and out the other for Rick, who all but spells it out that the person he's really trying to save is himself.

Off he goes on his crusade, even motorboating through the swamps to find an old judge (on a fishing trip) who can stay the execution.

The annoying thing is that nobody wants him to succeed - not even Cindy, whose tortured scream when she's yanked away from the brink of death for one more round of cat-and-mouse pretty much says it all.

The real indignity of the movie is that Rick is allowed to play out his naive liberal fantasy at the prisoner's expense. At best, he brings her gifts, compassion and a visit with her younger brother (Skeet Ulrich) in her final hours. At worst, he subverts her express desire to die with dignity in favor of his own ineffectual meddling.

Set in an unspecified Southern state, the movie affords Stone a chance to play a hard-luck cracker, and she's not completely out of her range, but neither is she terribly convincing. Now we know she can do a defiant, trapped-animal number, and she's not afraid to forgo glamour in favor of drab hair and garb, but what's the point of getting serious with a script this silly?

It doesn't help much that she plays opposite the miscast Morrow (of ``Northern Exposure'' fame), who lacks the weight to make a role like this seem anything but annoying.

As a crusading lawyer in ``Quiz Show,'' he at least had an intelligent (and Oscar-nominated) script on his side. This movie's underdeveloped blueprint is a handicap. And director Bruce Beresford (``Driving Miss Daisy,'' ``Tender Mercies''), despite expectations, does nothing here to enhance his reputation.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Last Dance'' (R; language, violence).

The stars: Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid, Peter Gallagher.

Behind the scenes: Produced by Steven Haft, directed by Bruce Beresford. Written by Ron Koslow, based on a story by Koslow and Haft.

Running time: One hour, 43 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Two Stars.

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Photo

Photo: Sharon Stone stars as a convicted killer awaiting ex ecution on Death Row in ``Last Dance.''