One Night at McCool's -- on Friday evening.

The film is actor Michael Douglas' inaugural effort as a producer and he also appears as one of the central characters.

Douglas' character -- made up to resemble his father circa late 1970s with a little fat Elvis thrown in as opposed to his usual Gordon Gekko look -- serves a dual purpose. It is to Douglas that Matt Dillon's character relates his tale of maddening love while hiring the man to knock out the woman he hates, loved and cannot stop thinking about.

The film moves very quickly working on parallel yet conflicting narratives -- in addition to Dillon's tale, characters played by Paul Reiser and John Goodman also fall for the same woman around the same time period but their take on the situations which arise are remarkably different from Dillon's.

Reiser -- of Mad About You fame -- plays Dillon's cousin Carl, a married megalomaniac lawyer. Reiser relates his scenes to his psychiatrist who is well played by country music singer Reba McIntyre.

The scenes in the psychiatrist's office are some of the most amusing as she reacts with an almost unprofessional mix of bemusement and sarcasm to his tales of his uncontrollable sexual magnetism and power.

John Goodman comes onto the scene as a police officer investigating the murder of the boyfriend of the woman at the centre of it all -- Jewel. Goodman spins his tale of obsessive love to his local priest with an amusing amount of religious justification and zeal.

`Cherchez la femme' is never more true than in one night at McCool's with the female lead providing the glue which holds this tale of sex and crime together.

Jewel, played by Liv Tyler is a variety of curve-enhancing outfits, has the power to make men crazy with a glance, God forbid a smile.

But Tyler's Jewel is much more than a pretty face -- she is ruthless and remorse free about doing what she has to in order to achieve her dream -- the perfect house complete with a DVD player.

When the parallel storylines come together at the end it is with the sounds of the Village People punctuated by gunfire. But there are many, many laughs along the way.

The script -- penned by Dutch writer Harold Zwart -- sizzles with quick humour making One Night at McCool's a very watchable and enjoyable piece of light comedy.

The film is not likely to show up on any Academy lists but it is fun and made for the perfect way to open up a weekend.

Tania Theriault Star: Michael Douglas and Matt Dillon in a scene from Douglas' first film as a producer REVIEW REV MOVIES MPC