Send me an angel
Weekend Journal
Roya Butler, WH '02
Issue date: 11/6/00 Section: Undergraduate
- Page 1 of 1
Official Web-site synopsis: Drew Barrymore and her production company, Flower Films, have collaborated with director Joseph McGinty Nichol to produce a big-screen version of the campy TV classic. Charlie (the mysterious voice on the speakerphone) is the head of a detective agency that uses three beautiful women to investigate unscrupulous cases and nefarious individuals. In the updated version, Barrymore (Dylan), Cameron Diaz (Natalie), and Lucy Liu (Alex) are the new Angels. Bill Murray plays Bosley.
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch
Directed by: Joseph McGinty Nichol
Written by: Ryan Rowe, Ed Solomon, John August, Akiva Goldsman, Mitch Glazer, Susannah Grant, Steve Pink, D.V DeVincentis, Zak Penn
Studio: Sony
Roya: ***. Don’t expect a big-screen rerun. Charlie’s Angels is a action packed movie which taps into the mind of the original series. Although the movie takes place in 2000, it contains vast retro influence (including the all important omniscient phone voice—Charlie—played by good ol’ John Forsythe, who was the original series’ bossman).
Pros: This movie gets my three stars for the casting combination of sweet Barrymore, sexy Diaz, and firey Liu. As in the series, the female detectives bear beautiful makeup, designer clothes and glamorous coifs. The movie emphasizes a comedic aspect, along with the usual sex appeal.
Cons: Please forgive me, but the entire Chad bit (any bit’s involving Chad—Drew’s real life sweetheart Tom Green) proved to be tedious. It was surprising that Bill Murray doesn’t have a single spontaneous funny moment. Diaz (Natalie) and Barrymore (Dylan) roles are too similar—ditzy blondes. The director should have read the script—Natalie graduated valedictorian, she should at least appear intelligent!
Thanks to Ally McBeal, Liu has been typecast, and thus stands on her own. As for the dreaded Angels fashion influence: Tight satin pants are making a come-back, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of Angel’s logo wear for sale this Xmas.
Jeff: *. This movie experience is truly a roller coaster ride at best. Not only does this movie rip off the original series, but we also witness rips from: Mission Impossible freeze frame cinematography, The Matrix kung fu scenes (courtesy of Yuen Cheung-Yan, brother of Matrix-meister Yuen Woo-Ping), and goofy detective higinx a la Autin Powers.
The movie was funny, entertaining and held my attention. But, to be gentle, my recommendation is to wait for the rental.
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch
Directed by: Joseph McGinty Nichol
Written by: Ryan Rowe, Ed Solomon, John August, Akiva Goldsman, Mitch Glazer, Susannah Grant, Steve Pink, D.V DeVincentis, Zak Penn
Studio: Sony
Roya: ***. Don’t expect a big-screen rerun. Charlie’s Angels is a action packed movie which taps into the mind of the original series. Although the movie takes place in 2000, it contains vast retro influence (including the all important omniscient phone voice—Charlie—played by good ol’ John Forsythe, who was the original series’ bossman).
Pros: This movie gets my three stars for the casting combination of sweet Barrymore, sexy Diaz, and firey Liu. As in the series, the female detectives bear beautiful makeup, designer clothes and glamorous coifs. The movie emphasizes a comedic aspect, along with the usual sex appeal.
Cons: Please forgive me, but the entire Chad bit (any bit’s involving Chad—Drew’s real life sweetheart Tom Green) proved to be tedious. It was surprising that Bill Murray doesn’t have a single spontaneous funny moment. Diaz (Natalie) and Barrymore (Dylan) roles are too similar—ditzy blondes. The director should have read the script—Natalie graduated valedictorian, she should at least appear intelligent!
Thanks to Ally McBeal, Liu has been typecast, and thus stands on her own. As for the dreaded Angels fashion influence: Tight satin pants are making a come-back, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of Angel’s logo wear for sale this Xmas.
Jeff: *. This movie experience is truly a roller coaster ride at best. Not only does this movie rip off the original series, but we also witness rips from: Mission Impossible freeze frame cinematography, The Matrix kung fu scenes (courtesy of Yuen Cheung-Yan, brother of Matrix-meister Yuen Woo-Ping), and goofy detective higinx a la Autin Powers.
The movie was funny, entertaining and held my attention. But, to be gentle, my recommendation is to wait for the rental.