Published at: Oct. 26, 2000, 9:56 p.m. CST by staff
El Cosmico here. I am so sleepy. I've been awake for about 38 hours now. Not a pleasant feeling. I'm going to sleep soon.
Before Harry took off on his journey of debauchery this weekend (enjoy the Tigger suit, girls), he made me promise to go see Charlie's Angels and write it up tonight.
Based on the trailers, I expected this movie to suck ass. Given my lack of sleep, the chance that I would be able to tolerate this film was reduced further still. In my mind, the ladies cast as the Angels, lovely and cute as they are, just don't kick ass. That would be a problem if this movie took itself seriously.
Fortunately, there are no such pretensions to be found here. Charlie's Angels is no masterpiece, there are no great feats of acting, the plot is thin, and a few scenes just fall flat. But that doesn't matter. It really doesn't. The film is just fun to watch.
It seems to me that the filmmakers were just out to make a fun movie, abandoning all other priorities. While there were a few scenes that were just mediocre, they were the exception. During the overwhelming majority of scenes, it just seems that the actors on screen are just having a great lot of fun, and it's easy to enjoy the movie along with them. They don't come off as hacks or primadonnas; it seems they have a good deal of perspective about what will evoke sincere laughter from an audience, there's a great lot of easily appreciable self-effacement, and beyond that, I was astonished to find a significant level of understanding of ass-kicking action scenes.
This was probably the biggest surprise. There was genuinely innovative and interesting action in this film. Repeatedly. At moments, it was exceedingly fun. Add to this a good number of scenes with which females can identify and feel powerful and cool, and add on top of that the fact that the three main actresses know full well how to provide eye-catching moments for the visually oriented male population, and you have a film that I think will have a lot of appeal to an exceptionally wide audience.
In my mind, the three lovelies, Drew, Lucy and Cameron, and Crispin Glover stand out as the most enjoyable presences on screen. Of course Bill Murray is good, but one expects him to be so. Crispin exuded a notable degree of badassitude, retaining a small bit of ridiculousness. The lovelies, somehow DID manage to kick ass. Amazingly, I would see this film again, and enjoy the experience. I'd even go so far as to say that I'd like this group of folks to do another project together.
Yes, there are better films to be watched, but most of them probably aren't in theatres near you. This one probably is. On top of that, it's a genuinely fun experience. Such films may not always win critical acclaim, especially by people like me, but they have their place. Sometimes, you just need to see a fun movie in a big theatre. Charlie's Angels will fill that need. Well done, ladies.
