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Charlie's Angels, 2000, 98 minutes, Rated PG-13
By Carla Robinson
Tell me anything, but don’t tell me Charlie’s Angels is a film about
female empowerment. Yes, Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and Alex (Lucy
Liu) can kick ass and work those assets, defuse bombs and crack computer code. But they do
it all with a childlike devotion to Charlie, a man who sets them up with a client whose
background he apparently didn’t bother to investigate.
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And there’s no use checking for
excitement in the story, the plot or the mise-en-scène of Charlie’s Angels. The fun
lies with the cast. Produced by Barrymore’s production company, Flower Films,
Charlie’s Angels presents three female leads doing what was once reserved for
big-name action heroes. And doing it sans guns. The ladies look like they’re having a
blast and their enthusiasm is infectious.
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© 2000 Columbia Pictures, Inc.
Chuck's Angels - Lucy Liu, Cameron
Diaz and Drew Barrymore
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But whoever said there’s joy in repetition was wrong.
This film proves that there’s misery in it. It’s great that the Angels are crack
martial artists, whooping more tail than in the TV series, but how many times can we see
them fight and still be impressed? Ooh, look! Those girls can kick! Oh, and punch. Whoa,
and jump! Who knew? It gets to be downright insulting.
I do appreciate the filmmakers’ insistence that one of the Angels be “of
color,” and word has it that Jada Pinkett Smith and Thandi Newton were offered the
role of Alex before Lucy Liu. I like Liu’s performance, but can’t help wondering
how much flava Jada would have lent to the film. M
December 2000
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