Knockoff Blind Date

By RICHARD SCHICKEL

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.