`THREE TO TANGO' CAST, SCRIPT MAKE ALL THE RIGHT MOVES.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

``Three to Tango'' relies on story devices as old as literature itself - a love triangle and a case of mistaken identity, for example - but it is packaged so cleverly and presented by such a talented cast that those cliches can be forgiven.

In a sense, the romantic comedy is ``In & Out'' stood on its ear: A truly straight man, for a time, allows the public to perceive him as gay until he ``comes out of the closet'' and unashamedly admits his heterosexuality in the interest of truth.

And it contains a dollop of ``Some Like It Hot,'' with a desirable young woman pouring her heart out to that ``gay'' man because she sees him as only a friend, not another man who wants her body.

Matthew Perry plays Oscar Novak, a professionally insecure architect in business with Peter Steinberg (Oliver Platt), who happens to be homosexual. Steinberg and Novak decide to shoot for big game by pitching Chicago tycoon Charles Newman (Dylan McDermott) for the privilege of designing a multimillion-dollar cultural center.

Newman, the kind of sleek scoundrel who probably pulled wings off insects as a boy, decides to pit Steinberg and Novak against their mega-successful rivals, Decker and Strauss (John C. McGinley and Bob Balaban) for the job in a well-publicized contest.

Based on innocent shows of affection, miscommunication (``well, you know'') and malicious disinformation from Decker and Strauss, Newman mistakenly concludes that Oscar Novak is gay. Newman capitalizes on Oscar's puppyish eager-to-please attitude by assigning him the task of keeping his mistress, Amy Post (Neve Campbell), out of another man's arms while the tycoon is being a dutiful husband.

Damon Santostefano, in his feature directing debut, has given the gender-bender notion a fresh treatment by letting his cast find humor within their characters and specific situations rather than in exaggerated buffoonery.

One might presume that the responsibility for delivering laughs rests on comic veterans Perry and Platt. However, McDermott and Campbell, both famous for their dramatic TV work (his on ``The Practice,'' hers on ``Party of Five''), show surprising gifts for comedy.

Perry's Oscar is a nicer, less cynical version of Chandler Bing, his ``Friends'' role, and there's nothing wrong with that. His history of failed relationships, handled as back story, and his klutzy physical comedy make Oscar endearing, even while he is carrying on the big ruse.

Perry wisely avoids the caricature that many other straight characters pretending to be gay have lapsed into: the stereotypical raging queen. The homosexuality is handled with plain dialogue, not with affected mannerisms.

Campbell and Perry have great chemistry from the night the characters meet and have their first ill-fated date. One of their best scenes together is when Campbell's Amy, mid-bubble bath, divulges a sexual secret, and Oscar feigns casual interest while he's really somewhere between rapture and agony. Perry doesn't need to whimper ``I'm gay, I'm gay, I'm gay,'' a la Jack Lemmon; you know he's thinking it, and that's enough.

Campbell's laugh, which in ``Three to Tango'' comes as easily as the tears flow on ``Party of Five,'' is infectious. She plays the young glass artist as wounded but not self-pitying, a woman who accepts love-'em-and-leave-'em men as a fact of life.

McDermott plays the self-absorbed tycoon to a T, throwing his weight around with a confident strut and at the same time displaying a catalog of phobias. Despite that strong, angular jaw and piercing gaze used so effectively for both roles, Newman couldn't possibly be any further from Bobby Donnell of ``The Practice.''

Platt, a master of broad comedy, is every bit as funny when he lets his eyes do the talking. His reactions often come in a subtle but telling shrug or twitch of an eyebrow.

The playful yet sophisticated tone of the movie is set in the opening titles, with three silhouetted swing dancers jumping and jiving through a storytelling pas de trois.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Three to Tango'' (PG-13; sex-related situations, language).

The stars: Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell, Dylan McDermott, Oliver Platt, John C. McGinley, Bob Balaban, Cylk Cozart.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Damon Santostefano. Written by Rodney Vaccaro and Aline Brosh McKenna. Released by Warner Bros.

Running time: One hour, 38 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Three stars.