I have seen Charlie’s Angels several times. When it first was released, I saw it in the movie theater four times. That’s right, 4 times! As soon as it was released, I rushed right out and bought the DVD. Mind you, this is not something that I normally do.
Okay, who doesn’t know the story of Charlie’s Angels? It’s based on that old TV show, which so many men thanked Farrah Fawcett for. And, let us females admit it, a lot of us modeled our hair after Farrah’s feathered ’do. Anyway, the story of the movie is this: Three women, Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Alex (Lucy Liu) and Natalie (Cameron Diaz), are private detectives. Their bosses are Bosley (Bill Murray) and the mysterious millionaire Charlie (John Forsythe). They are hired by Knox Technologies to find their kidnapped boss, Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell), and retrieve the voice data software that Knox designed. Using their martial arts, wits, technological know-how and, of course, sex appeal, the Angels have to figure out who the bad guy is. Soon, Charlie’s life is in danger, and they need to protect the man that they’ve never met.
I love this movie. Why? Well, first of all, each Angel reminded me of me (Dylan), my sister Julie (Natalie) and my best friend Dionne (Alex). Their actions and dialogue was so incredibly different, that Dionne and I were laughing out loud because of how much they reminded us of...well...us.
Secondly, on a less personal note, the stunts are spectacular. Yes, there are a lot of echoes of The Matrix, especially with the bullet at the end of the film and the slow down of martial arts, but it works here. the helicopter scenes were fabulous-- props go to Leigh Hennessy and Michiko Nishiwaki, the doubles for Lucy Liu. The opening stunt will surprise the heck out of you-- Especially thanks to a surprise appearance by LL Cool J.
Speaking of surprise appearances, let’s address a few more of those. Tim Curry plays Roger Corwin, owner or Red Star technologies and lead suspect in the kidnapping of Knox. Crispin glover (George McFly from Back to the Future) plays the creepy Thin Man. You’ll also see Matt LeBlanc, Tom Green, Luke Wilson and Playboy playmate Karen McDougal. The cast is fabulous.
Yes, this movie is cheesy. Yes, it’s campy. Yes, it’s yet another movie based on a TV show. But, you know what? It’s entertaining. I liked it. I like it more each time I watch, too.