As a lawyer, Alicia Silverstone looks like the only kind of case she's ready for is a case of the cutes.

And, brother, does she have one.

Her, her show and its writers and their dialogue and her co-stars and everyone associated with this project -- even the usually grouchy Ryan O'Neal -- are all suffering from the kind of cutes that make you want to pinch their cheeks right before you gouge their eyes out.

Miss Match, the cute show in question, stars Silverstone, out of career rehab after bombs such as Batman and Robin, as Kate Fox, a divorce attorney working for her father Jerrold (O'Neal).

However, by night, when she's not dividing couples, she's a sought-after matchmaker, bringing people together.

Of course, a series like this wouldn't be complete if the matchmaker herself had a lousy lovelife, and she has just that. Will potential client Michael Mendelsohn (David Conrad) turn out to be her soulmate? Where else could this tripe come from but the mind of Darren Star, the talentless hack behind Melrose Place and the very cute Sex and the City, which is redeemed by its racier-than-thou content and four fine actresses.

Silverstone is not a fine actress, but she is cute, and Miss Match airs on NBC, which indicates just how daring it will be. That said, if its ambitions are small, it achieves its goals effectively.

Silverstone high-beams the star wattage as a character who more than slightly resembles the one that made her famous in Clueless. Moreover, after sitting through a late '90s backlash of Biblical proportions, she is due for a comeback, and the lack of a satirical edge or biting wit may provide viewers with the sort of slick, well-dressed comfort food they historically latch onto.

Then again, as with all things too sweet, it can prove very filling, very fast.


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