When
thinking of classic television, Charlie's Angels doesn't exactly spring into most
people's minds. That didn't stop Hollywood from giving the cult 70's TV series
the big screen treatment. Drew Barrymore (also one of the film's producers), Cameron
Diaz, and Lucy Liu star as the angels for a new millenium.
As
expected, there isn't much plot. There is some nonsense dealing with the kidnapping
of some computer wiz or something to that effect. It doesn't really matter. This
is a movie about chicks kicking ass and wearing provocative clothing. Unfortunately
there isn't enough of either to fully recomend this movie. There are, however,
plenty of slow motion/close-ups of our heroines flinging their hair towards the
camera--now that's entertainment.
Charlie's
Angels is the directorial debut of music video maker McG. That's not surprising
since the film is cut like a music video. I will give McG this--his action sequences
pack a surprising punch, bringing to mind the expert images in The Matrix. It
is also completely apparant that McG loves his stars because he puts them in all
kinds of compromising positions. What he can't seem to do is tell a consistant
story. The Angels fly through a series of convoluted situations, loosely strung
together with some nifty fight scenes and a ready to sell soundtrack.
Drew
Barrymore (who fought hard to be able to bring this film to the big screen) is
a cutie, but she is surprisingly stiff and offers only a few sexy moments. Lucy
Liu (who took over when Thandie Newton got bogged down with the overbloated Mission:
Impossible 2) fares better. Although not quite as sexy as her counterparts, she
delivers her almost embarrasing dialogue with flair and really excells in the
action scenes. Cameron Diaz is, without a doubt, my favorite part of the film.
She once again exudes the natural charm and wit that made Something About Mary
ring so true. She isn't afraid to make fun of herself, and there's also the fact
that she's a stone cold fox. And she kills you with that "girl next door"
thing.
McG misses
some golden opportunities. He has Bill Murray, Tim Curray, Sam Rockwell, Tom Green,
Matt LeBlanc, Luke Wilson and Crispin Glover at his desopsal and all were completely
wasted in brief and underwritten roles. With Murray, this is especially disheartening,
because there was some good potential there. Our film makers were even able to
lure John Forsythe (the original Charlie) into this poorly written venture.
It's
hard to tell what exactly the film makers were going for. Charlie's Angels isn't
quite funny enough to be a spoof, but isn't precise enough to be a homage either.
It's just sort of there. And with the money and time they invested in this thing,
that's not good enough. I'm sure, however, if the film makes money, they will
make what I hope will be a better sequel. Sadly, even Cameron Diaz's magical booty
dance wasn't enough to make this glossed over wannabe worth the 6 bucks.
