David Spade, Sophia Marceanu, Patrick Bruel, Mitchell Whitfield, Artie Lange, and Martin Sheen, directed by Jeff Pollack
Spade's probably not as hot or as much of an attention-getter as he used to be, and I understand a lot of people not getting him anymore and that's because he's a paradox. From his "Hollywood Minute" days at Saturday Night Live to his role as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me, Dave Spade simultaneously is a lovable loser AND the smart alec who could make you cry in elementary school. On Just Shoot Me, for example, he would never get as many girls or have as much office clout as the photographer going bald, Elliot DeMoro. Yet at the same time, Spade's characters would always get off a deadly verbal jab at his target. There's a certain admiration you can get out of Spade, because he more or less abides by the philosophy that win or lose, at least you still have your sense of humor.
What's good about the film is that the tone of the film caters to Spade's persona so he's not out of place. Spade's characters are so loveably sarcastic that as a result, he doesn't really encompass the full range of human emotions on-screen. For example, if David Spade were to do Shakespeare, he either wouldn't be convincing or he would but he'd lose all of the attributes that make him appealling in the first place. So the film has a sort of alter-reality to it working on us suspending our disbeliefs a little, so we can see Spade as a legitimate businessman, good samaritan, and lastly, a guy in love rather than a guy who just wants to have sex.
On that level, things seem to work out. Sophia Marceanu, stars as a beautiful and exotic cellist who moved in next door. On a sidenote, it's kind of interesting how Marceanu, a former Bond girl, is a cellist, and a previous Bond girl, Miriam D'abo, was apparently given a cello in the Bond movie "The Living Daylights" in order to make her seem more cultured. Anyway, Spade being slightly more benevolent than usual in his relationship with her, gets on her good side, in part by helping her overcome her fear of failure so that she can try out for the local philharmonic orchestra. Whether you buy Spade's performance or not, that's the part you're supposed to suspend your disbelief a little on so you can enjoy the romance on a more cheesy level.
If you do, you'll find it worth it, because Spade's one-liners are funny and the screenplay is sharp enough in some places to feel like they've been taken out of Chris Rock or Jerry Seinfeld's material. The notion that a kid who knows to cry "wolf" in the name of sexual harrasment is a powerful weapon is a pretty good example of this. Another would be the poke at retail ripoffs when Spade suggests that to get the price down on a diamond ring, that he and the jewler team up to kick the crap out of the middleman.
Not everything in the script is flat-out funny. There are a couple bits of bathroom humor that are just inexcusable, and it seemed obvious that the old ladies who thought Spade was a hunk was probably added to the script by Spade himself as a self-esteem booster. Nevertheless, it's all worth it.