Charlie's Angels (2000) starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch, Tim Curry, Crispin Glover, Matt LeBlanc, LL Cool J, Tom Green, Luke Wilson directed by McG Movie Review

Charlie's Angels (2000)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in Charlie's Angels

Hello Angels

Although I was too young to be interested in the original "Charlie's Angels" TV show when aired back in the 70s, by the 80s and with teenage hormones rampaging well I most certainly enjoyed the re-runs. Between the various Angel's Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith and there replacements over the seasons it certainly made for memorable entertainment for young men. Which in away is what they have tried to achieve with "Charlie's Angels" the movie which piles on the sexual side of things with a bountiful amount of innuendo and skimpy outfits for it's stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu whilst also giving it a sort of "Mission Impossible" feel playing it for laughs at every opportunity.

Charlie's private investigation company is asked to try and recover programmer Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) who has been kidnapped, presumably by his biggest rival Roger Corwin (Tim Curry). So Charlie's Angel's Natalie, Dylan, Alex (Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu) and there boss Bosley (Bill Murray) set about finding and rescuing Eric by any means necessary. But having recovered Knox and the software which was stolen at the same time it appears that the Angel's mission has only just begun.

Bill Murray as Bosley in  Charlie's Angels

Depending on your mood you will either find "Charlie's Angels" entertaining or just a completely stupid movie which plays like one scene after another of tame titillation. Which mirrors my experience because the first time I watched "Charlie's Angels" I found it mind numbingly dumb but the second time revelled in all the sexual cheesiness, accepting that it's nothing more than an excuse to have 3 sexy stars delivering innuendo, cliche and cheese in various states of undress.

Let's get one thing very clear the storyline to "Charlie's Angels" is for the most pointless and intentionally so. Bad guys, good girls, double crossing and that's it pretty much summed up in just a few words. Yes the Angel's go on a mission to rescue someone who's been taken hostage, battle some bad guys and save the day but it's not important in the slightest. In fact before you even get half way through you've sort of stopped caring where the storyline is going and when it does make its occasional reappearance it ends up slowing things down

What "Charlie's Angels" is about is the jokes, the set piece scenes which keep things moving and occasionally tie into the actual storyline. There are three sides, three levels to the humour in "Charlie's Angels" with the first side being the blatant sexuality of it all. The first half is full of sexual innuendo and the majority of the movie plays on the sexiness of its 3 stars, featuring them in various revealing, skimpy outfits. It's sort of entertaining and amusing to start with but in a strange way, and I can't believe I am saying this, but seeing Cameron Diaz or any of the attractive ladies in revealing outfits grows boring by the end.

The second level to the comedy is some actual clever moments with gags such as Bosley wearing a concealed Mic in his mouth actually making you laugh for the right reason. And the clever humour crosses over with plenty of action and it has to be said that whilst the fight sequences are all overly choreographed they are entertaining.

But the third level to all of this comedy is plenty of stupidity. "Charlie's Angels" is full of irrelevant jokes such as Natalie on the phone to her new boyfriend whilst fighting baddies, or Bosley ending up in an inflatable sumo suit fighting Roger Corwin. It's plainly daft, totally pointless and although one or two of these scenes of frivolity work there are plenty which don't especially those which feature Tom Green as Chad.

Whilst the comedy doesn't always work the casting is spot on. The trio of stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu all work well delivering the sexiness yet also the comedy brilliantly. And paired up with Bill Murray who takes on the role of Bosley there is a lot of fun being had by all of them. But in a strange way it's the plethora of stars in varying parts which make it all amusing. Sam Rockwell, Tim Curry, Matt LeBlanc, Luke Wilson and LL Cool J all put in entertaining performances. But the best of these comes from Crispin Glover as evil henchman "The Thinman" a wonderful blend of comedy and villainy.

What this all boils down to is that "Charlie's Angels" is a mixed bag which you could enjoy one day and dislike the next. It's often daft, intentionally cheesy and revels in the sexiness of it's trio of stars but ultimately it is what it is a movie all about fun and nothing else.


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