Cinema: Knockoff Blind Date

Whew! Another worry laid to rest. Moonlighting’s Bruce Willis can prevail on the big screen. The presence of this teen dream in Blind Date is undoubtedly why a mostly indifferent movie has zipped up the charts. As Walter Davis he offers a neat variant on his TV character, acting like a stooge but saving himself finally with hidden reserves of smarts. And he does it with style.

Whew again! Night Court’s John Larroquette proves himself a wonderful comic foil. Here he is a man sworn to maim anyone who attempts to trifle with Nadia, his former love. Guess who tries.

But . . . phew! As played by Kim Basinger, Nadia lacks what farce needs, irresistible nuttiness. She is simply a whiner. Director Edwards (The Party, S.O.B.) is a great farceur, and he has plenty of classic comic conventions to play with: elegant cars and parties to crash, a decorous wedding to subvert. But glum Nadia defeats him. A film promising knockout knockabout comedy finally seems merely knocked off.