The film industry in 2003 has produced some amazingly horrid movies thus far, and no better of example is “The Life of David Gale.” This is the funniest unintentional comedy since “The Postman,” a film so ramshackled with tired clich‚s, overbearing commentary and flat-out stupidity, it is immediately put in contention for one of the biggest studio disasters of recent memory.

The film starts off with our hero, conveniently named Bitsey Bloom (dead-panned by Kate Winslet), hurling down a highway when her car suddenly breaks down.

Then she hops out and starts running Forrest Gump-style down the road carrying a videotape. This is obviously the piece of evidence that proves David Gale (a hilarious Kevin Spacey) innocent of any wrongdoing. Cut to four days earlier, where we see Bitsey at her high-profile magazine, “News Weekly,” where she has reluctantly accepted to interview Gale, a respected professor on death row accused of rape and murder.

The majority of “The Life of David Gale” is told through flashbacks. The audience should be aware that these are flashbacks because the camera spins out of control, as if we’re about to stumble in on Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem (which may be an homage to “The Muppet Movie,” which is told through flashbacks as well). We learn that Gale, despite being a raging alcoholic and adulterer, is at heart a good father because he talks in a baby voice to his young son.

Gale was an advocate for abolition of the death penalty, a pursuit he actively participated in with his dear friend, Constance (Laura Linney). His speeches and books have made him a university celebrity. David loses his job when a seedy involvement with a student surfaces, followed by his wife leaving him. From there, he becomes an even more bitter and violent alcoholic, takes a degrading job as an electronics store and finds out Constance has leukemia and has kept it a secret from him.

Winslet sleepwalks through her role, providing the same reaction-free facial expressions for about two-thirds of the film. For the final part of the movie, she does just the opposite and overacts, obviously studying the finale of “The Godfather, Part III” very closely. Her role pretty much symbolizes the movie: It’s melodramatic, hokey and very external.

Spacey doesn’t have a prayer as Gale. He is shown being a great father figure in one scene, and in the next he’s, umm, doing extra credit with an ex-student in a bathroom. It’s OK though, because his wife cheats on him. It is quickly realized that nothing is really Gale’s fault.

There is nothing about this film that makes it worth watching. The audience is forced to believe one ridiculous revelation after another, up to and including an ending so preposterous, all logic is lost. To actually believe these characters would put themselves through such an ordeal alone is beyond words. This does, amazingly, make you think. These thoughts may include where the story doesn’t make sense, the idiotic approach writer Charles Randolph or director Alan Parker may have had in their head, or a thought much like my own: “Gee, maybe I should shave tonight when I get home because I might not have time in the morning.”

“The Life of David Gale” longs to be a great film, full of memorable characters and a wonderful story that leads to a heavy, heartfelt and lasting conclusion. It fails on all counts. The audience is not provided enough development of these characters to care for them.

The movie gives all the clues, but the conclusion is not as satisfying as the journey itself. The characters are treated as dimly as the audience, where a cheesy rip-off mix of Nancy Drew meets “Dead Man Walking” has turned into the CBS Tuesday night movie.