`MURDER' MOST FOUL - BUT AT TIMES IT CAN BE RATHER FUNNY.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

William H. Macy understands pleasing crowds. His turn in ``Fargo'' as the apoplectic car dealer who arranged for the kidnapping of his wife was a marvel of comic agitation. The poor guy wasn't quite smart enough to completely keep his cool, and his sputtering dissembling was hilariously painful to behold. Macy is one of the few who's a lot of fun when he's uptight, and fortunately for audiences, Macy seems to be uptight a lot.

Now, the actor has co-written (with director Steven Schacter, a fellow member of David Mamet's talent mob) a plum role that also allows him to sweat the heat exquisitely. In ``A Slight Case of Murder,'' based on Donald Westlake's novella ``A Travesty,'' Macy plays Terry Thorpe, a movie critic on TV who has too much hair to be Siskel and is too skinny to be Ebert; the level of piety in his reviews suggests Michael Medved.

As the film opens, Thorpe has had the bad luck to have, if not exactly murdered, then at least contributed to an unfortunate degree to the death of one of his girlfriends, a woman he didn't realize was still married to an estranged husband. He's pretty sure he's smart enough to cover it up, that he can feign concern for the cops. ``I have a new-found respect for actors,'' Thorpe turns to the camera to tell the audience, adding, ``I have been known to be'' - he pauses, trying to find the euphemism - ``vicious'' - he pauses again, regretfully, clearly failing in that euphemism search - ``toward them.''

If only poor Terry wasn't bedeviled by so many obstacles. There's the gumshoe (James Cromwell) who was tailing the dame and has incriminating photos; the alertly suspicious girlfriend (Felicity Huffman, Macy's wife); the amiable lump of a cop (Adam Arkin) who wants Thorpe to assist him with that screenplay he's been noodling around on; and the cop's wife (Julia Campbell), who wants Thorpe, period.

All this makes for a few plot twists that, while amusing, aren't terrifically surprising; the script in general could've used some crisper gag lines. As Terry is a movie critic - revenge on Macy's behalf for some past pan? - there are a number of movie allusions and inside jokes. (Director Paul Mazursky has a cameo as a filmmaker who tells Terry that his story - that is, his situation, which he has posited as a plot under the guise of seeking structural advice - stinks). Again, it's clever but terribly familiar.

Macy, naturally, is fun to watch as his world unravels; the rest of the cast performs capably, as well, and the production has polish to spare. The problem with ``A Slight Case of Murder'' can be found in its title - it's, well, slight.

The Facts

The show: ``A Slight Case of Murder.''

The stars: William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Adam Arkin, James Cromwell.

Where: TNT.

When: 8 and 10 p.m. and midnight tonight.

Our rating: Two and one half stars.

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Photo

PHOTO William H. Macy stars as a movie critic who finds it necessary to cover up the death of his girlfriend in ``A Slight Case of Murder.''