Daily News from New York, New York • 1021

JW illh 1 1 1 1 CT f. ww Outlaw couple can't escape cliches 4r i Crider. Directed by Mitch Marcus. At the where he. ultimately runs into- fSL.

li. 1 Embassy 4. Running time: 96 mins. Rated distressed damsel Cindy I 1V IT J' I where he. ultimately runs into-distressed damsel Cindy outpost with his shiftless dad, portrayed by James (father of Scott) Caan.

Their bickering sends Hate out on his bike, (Missy Crider) and her abusive unk (Elliott Gould). The inarticulate Hate and the sullen, embittered Cindy share your typical '90s-stylsd rites-of-passage adventures jacking cars, trysting in gas station restrooms, partying down with wild and crazy American Indian Billy Little Plume (Adam Beach) and his desert homies, and even, eventually, falling in old-fashioned love. Unfortunately, Hate reflexively kills a cop along the way, putting another serious damper on their trip. Debuting directorwriter STOP US IF YOUVE heard this before: Boy and Girl "meet cute" when Boy guns down Girl's influential uncle for attempting to rape her in a saloon parking lot Boy and Girl take it on the lam, with the law in hot-to-lukewarm pursuit The boy is the eponymous Hate, so called because he carved that word into his forearm with his trusty razor blade. Played by Scott (son of James) Caan, Hate is your basic broken-home teen living in a remote white-trash Arizona NEW CAAN JOB: Scott Caan, son of James (also in film), with Missy Crider in "A Boy Called Hate" would seem fated to make a rapid exit from the theatrical highway and into area vid-stores.

(R: Violence, nudity, Mitch Marcus' parade of doom-generation cliches is occasionally uplifted by deft location lensing and an infectious performance by the charismatic Beach (late of "Squanto, A Warrior's who easily steals those scenes he shares with the bland Caan and irritating Crider. Despite the film's serious intent, "A Boy Called Hate" MOVIE REVIEW DuDSfjii Hob Kloinni Ds to hsm. Mm East side comedy a Troma-tic experience I I art, corrupt religious huckster Rev. Snipes (Larry Robinson) and leering goons galore. Amid the effluvia-driven slapstick, gross-out gags, fat jokes and cheerfully cheesy FX, "Sgt Kabukiman" offers some legitimately funny se-quences.

And it benefits from Gianasi's likeable, physically adept performance. While "Sgt. Kabukiman" may win few new converts, committed Troma fans (and we know you're out there, we can hear you retching) should deem the flick just their cup of celluloid slime. (Unrated: Violence, nudity, profanity.) SUME-TiME PLAYERS: Rick Gianasi, Susan Byun team up in "Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D." 'Em High" series.

The unlikely story line in this superhero spoof has bumbling N.Y.P.D. cop Harry Gris- wold (Rick Gianasi) transformed, courtesy of a visiting Kabuki troupe, into a chopstick-wielding, sushi-scarfing superhero. He's been chosen to fulfill an ancient Japanese prophecy and pre- vent the rise of "the evil taken the forarptruthr less NYC real-estate' mogul -Reginald Stuart (Bill Wee-, den). Under the tutelage of feisty Japanese femme Lotus (Susan Byun), our reluctant hero is painfully trained to battle Stu- By THE PHANTOM OF THE MOVIES SGT. KABUKIMAN N.Y.P.D.

Rick Gianasi, Susan Byun. Directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz. At Rim Forum 2. Running time: 104 mins. Unrated.

VEARS IN THE WAIT-ing, if not in the making (the pic carries a 1990 copyright), "Sgt Kabukiman N.Y.P.D." lends support to the theory that if you work a formula long enough, you may one day get it half-right This production from the ooze-fest specialists atTroma eliminates some of the sldppi-ness of the flickfn the "Toxic Avenger" and "Class of Nuke DANCE PREVIEW en Tap Extravaganza honors their heart sole a career that included a role in the original cast of "Porgy and Bess." Phil Black's studio at 50th and Broadway has drawn stars from Madonna and Goldie Hawn to Twyla Tharp and Gelsey Kirkland. Melba Huber teaches in Texas, and Bross Townsend has been jamming with jazz artists and tap dancers around the country for 40 years. Tap fans can also watch a night of tap films Friday, starting at 7:30, at St Peter's Church, 54th St, and Lexing-tonAve. For Saturday's Alice Tully show, tickets are For information on all events, call 252-2236. By DAVID HINCKLEY Daily News Staff FTER TRAINING SOME 40,000 students in the fine art of dance, New York's Ruth Williams gets an exceptional bit of recognition herself this weekend: She's one of five recipients of the Flo-Bert Awards, given annually for "Lifetime Achievement in Tap Artistry." Other recipients are teachers Phil Black and Melba Ruber, pianist Bross Townsend and the Radio City Rock-.

ettes. The Flo-Bert presentation is part of Tap Extravaganza '96 Saturday night at 8 at Alice Tully Hall, which marks 3 CD CO ly American dance form that evolved from the native dances of several cultures. The date May 25 was chosen because it is the birthday of Bill "Bojan-gles" Robinson, the best-known tapper of them all. Ruth Williams opened her dance studio in Harlem in 1946, building on National Tap Dance Day. Tap Extravaganza also will include live tap performances by Buster Brown, Gregg Burge, Barbara Duffy and other art-' ists.

It will be hosted by Harold Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers. National Tap Day was declared by Congress in 1989 to honor this unique ro CO co.