David Spade tries to steal a page from fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum Adam Sandler’s book of success in this “Wedding Singer” knockoff. Here, Spade’s goofball restaurant owner falls for a beautiful French cellist (Sophie Marceau). When she finally warms up to him, her studly ex-beau wanders back into the picture. To make matters worse, Spade’s restaurant is sailing through fragile financial times, he’s responsible for a missing engagement ring, saddled with an obnoxious, yapping terrier (a la “There’s Something About Mary”) and must plow through a mountainous pile of puppy poop. The sprite, heart-string tugging, comedy has its moments of tenderness and gut-wrenching, scatological humor, but Spade is uncomfortably awkward as a romantic lead — he’s better employed in supporting comic roles as evidenced by his teleseries “Just Shoot Me.” Adding to the mix, Spade, ostensibly missing his “Tommy Boy” cohort, even finds an ample Chris Farley replacement in the robust form of Artie Lange as his obsequious, “Single White Female” stalking, sidekick. Martin Sheen and jon Lovitz make devilish cameos, but the film belongs to Marceau. Her effervescence and graceful stature fill the screen wonderfully, even if its a stretch to see her go lip-to-lip with Spade.
