by Matt Coughlin
Assistant News Editor
Big bangs, bouncing bodies and beautiful babes take the screen in the film remake of the 70s television hit, Charlie’s Angels.
The Angels, Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore) and Alex (Lucy Liu), are once again working for the never-seen Charlie. Bill Murray plays Charlie’s right-hand man, Bosley.
Murray is, as always, funny. Diaz works well as the ditzy member of the Angels, while Liu’s eccentric character from Ally McBeal translates well to film. While it’s not as strong as her performance from E. T., Barrymore does okay as the bad girl. Must be experience. However, standing between Diaz and Liu, Barrymore makes them look like the number 101.
A wealthy technology genius, Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) has been kidnapped and his partner, played by Kelly Lynch, hires the Angels to find him and his missing software.
Nothing new or exciting here. If you are looking for innovation or creative genius, a 70s spoof film is not the place.
Despite the rather hackneyed plot and theme, Charlie’s Angels is an entertaining film. The spoof aspect is pulled off well by the writing and the adventure can certainly hold the audience’s attention.
The film takes it’s action cues from the Matrix, while it’s characters are purely MTV, including Tom Green, as well, himself under a different name.
The acting and the action are over-the-top and hold the film back. Diaz, Barrymore and Liu have apparently mastered the never-before-discovered art of hi-heel-kwon-do. Somehow, Crispin Glover is still allowed to appear in films despite being god-awful as an actor.
There are times when the writers should have let the characters die, just to save face.
So what am I saying, you ask. This:
Don’t see it for the plot. Don’t see it for the theme. Don’t see it for the cameos and don’t see it for the realism.
See it because you want to be entertained. Because if you are looking for anything deeper, look elsewhere. This film gets a B -.
