Posted on: Saturday, February 19, 2005

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"Ladies Night," 9 p.m., USA Network. An average woman, steady and dependable, grabs her company's money and vanishes. The cops are on the case, but so are two insurance people (Colin Ferguson and Claudette Mink). Their job is to find the money. They find much more, in this solid film, based on a true-life case about a father and son serial killing team who seduce their victims into stealing from their jobs before killing them. The film stars Paul Michael Glaser ("Starsky and Hutch") as an aging, handsome conman. "Ladies Night" is part thriller and part strong human drama.

"School of Life," 8 p.m., ABC Family. The first three minutes of this film are the best, featuring a hilariously grim speech by a middle-school valedictorian. The next hour is pretty good as a free-spirited young teacher (Ryan Reynolds) fascinates students and depresses a less-imaginative chap (David Paymer). Then the film — made in 2003 but premiering now — tumbles into contrivance. At its best, this is terrific, skillfully directed by William Dear ("Harry and the Hendersons"). At its worst, it's still OK.

Of Note

"Beverly Hills Cop" (1984), 3:30 p.m., Comedy Central. Skillfully mixing comedy and dead-serious adventure, this slick movie launches a night of programming featuring black comedians. It's followed by "Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987) at 6 p.m., Chris Rock's "Bring the Pain" special at 8 p.m. and "The Dave Chappelle Show" from 9 to 10:30 p.m.

"The Green Mile" (1999), 7 p.m., ABC. Barring another late change, ABC will rerun this Oscar-nominated film, which Frank Darabont beautifully directed from a Stephen King tale — just as he did in "The Shawshank Redemption." This time, the setting is death row in Louisiana, where a decent jailer (Tom Hanks) is fascinated by a giant prisoner (Oscar-nominee Michael Clarke Duncan). The movie's only flaw is its length. Fortunately, almost an hour will be trimmed to fit this slot.

"Law & Order," 7 p.m., NBC. Tonight, NBC stacks reruns from the three "Law & Order" series. In this first, a disc jockey has been almost killed and a publicity stunt is suspected. Then the case grows. Joe Piscopo plays a martial-arts movie star.

"Toy Story 2" (1999), 8 and 9:45 p.m., Disney Channel. Almost as wonderful as the original, this computer-animated comedy is a delight for kids or grown-ups.

"Without a Trace," 8 p.m., CBS. Vivian (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) finds a fresh clue in a case she fretted about for four years.

"Saturday Night Live," 10:30 p.m., NBC. Hilary Swank hosts. The musical guest is 50 Cent.