GRAB A SNIFTER OF COURVOISIER.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

``The Ladies Man,'' ``Saturday Night Live's'' annual Not-Ready- for-the-Big-Screen movie, is somewhat more ingratiating than most of these inflated skits have managed to be. That doesn't quite make it a feature film.

If you're not familiar with Tim Meadows' ``SNL'' character, he is one Leon Phelps, a radio and television call-in show host who gives advice to the lonely. The joke is that, like his bushy Afro and polyester, wide-collared wardrobe, Leon's guidance is stuck in a '70s groove. Basically, all he can think about is scoring with as many honeys as possible, and his lisping on-air patter reflects that.

The movie widens Leon's world, such as it is. He's got the wee a.m. hours shift at a Chicago talk radio station, where Millennium-era lonelyhearts are alternately outraged and amused by his lascivious chatter. He also gets around when not, um, working. A flashback informs us that he was left as an infant on the steps of the Playboy Mansion and learned from the Master accordingly. There are hundreds of Windy City women who can attest to the fact that Leon knows of what he speaks, however limited the parameters of that may be.

Along with the feminine interest, Leon naturally attracts a good deal of male jealousy. His uptight station manager (Eugene Levy) gets Leon fired over an FCC violation. The film's leisurely plot drive involves the host and his level-headed, Leon-resistant producer Julie's (``Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's'' Karyn Parsons) efforts to land a new gig. There's also a secret society of vengeful, cuckolded husbands, led by a sexually ambiguous wrestler (``SNL'' stablemate Will Ferrell) on the love machine's trail, bolt cutters at the ready.

There's more: Billy Dee Williams - yes, the original Ladies Man - as Leon's friendly, narration-prone neighborhood bartender; Julianne Moore, who was apparently the first ``SNL'' guest host to actually ask to be in one of Meadows' sketches, clowning it up as a cameo conquest; a goofy production number; a gross-out bar-food eating contest. ...

Some of it's funny, and some of it isn't. But the best thing about ``The Ladies Man'' is Meadows' abundant charm. He gets away with playing a doubly offensive type - both Spike Lee and Gloria Steinem will find a lot to complain about here - by infusing Leon with a dumb, friendly sweetness, malice-free confidence and even a capacity for growth. In a world of Coneheads and sharkskin-suited club geeks, this counts as remarkably charismatic character development.

It's not enough to make this movie completely gel, but it does make you want to see what Meadows is capable of doing without a snifter of Courvoisier in his hand.

``THE LADIES MAN''

(Rated R: nudity, sex, language, mild violence)

The stars: Tim Meadows, Karyn Parsons, Billy Dee Williams, Lee Evans, Will Ferrell, Tiffani Thiessen, Julianne Moore.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Reginald Hudlin. Written by Tim Meadows, Dennis McNicholas and Andrew Steele. Produced by Lorne Michaels. Released by Paramount Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 27 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Two and one half stars

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Producer Julie (Karyn Parsons) tries to help Leon Phelps (Tim Meadows) land a new job in ``The Ladies Man.''