Charlie's Angels (DVD)

by Brian.

Charlie's Angels is not Shakespeare, nor is it Hemingway, Picasso, Stravinsky, or Kubrick. As far as fine art goes, Charlie's Angels is the simple man's answer: The Green Day B-side, the Basquiat graffiti, the Pulp dime novel, or the Drive-In movie. That said, this film is a very fun ride.

From the first shot McG makes it clear that he is not making Lawrence of Arabia 2. LL Cool J, a TJ Hooker movie, Skydiving vixens frozen in mid-air, a gold speedboat, and cliché Mission: Impossible mask all tell the audience: put down your notepad and have some fun. You will not learn anything in this movie, but if you want to see these three lovely ladies in Bavarian skirts or Cameron Diaz getting down on Soul Train or Lucy Liu in a rather loud dominatrix outfit, stay in your seat. This film delivers on a most fantastic level, repeatedly telling itself that this isn't even a movie. The worst mistake a viewer can make is to take this flick seriously; the DVD case is pink for crying out loud!

Within this façade of popcorn poof however, and this is why I like this movie for those that were wondering, hides a series of extremely well done sequences. The fight scenes are surprisingly well orchestrated, making you say "cool" more than once. Crispin Glover outdoes the over-the-top enigmatic henchman, saying more with his cigarette smoke and locks of hair than any of the Angels. The supporting cast, including crowd favorite Tim Curry and lit firecracker Sam Rockwell all deliver solid performances, giving the WWF Champion Angels more to wrestle with than Joe Gordy of Tampa, Florida on Sunday Night Heat. From the aluminum trailer to the sumo ring it's clear that everybody's having fun on this set (yes, even Tom Green revels in his character: The Chad). With this kinetic energy bursting out of the screen, it's hard for the viewer not to just give up and have fun for ninety minutes, especially when the volume is up and the lights are down.

McG showcases his "new school" method of style-over-substance very well in this film, since there really is no substance at all. While I'm a big fan of quick zooms, cuts, freezes, and digital effects on light action fare, I'm still very wary of these techniques on a more emotional, dramatic project. Lucky for McG, he didn't have to worry about this while making Charlie's Angels. Here his style and the subject matter match perfectly, creating a film that none of the "old school" directors could muster. The only sand in my eye is that he will have to stay within this Saturday morning fare to keep making good movies, unless of course he realizes that static medium shots work too.

The DVD of this sweet Riesling packs several bells and whistles, including a commentary with director McG and cinematographer Russell Carpenter, many small behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a couple of music videos. While the items above were enough to convince me to pick the disc up, I still can't help wishing for more creative features. I want to hear an Angel commentary track! I want to hear Bill Murray's thoughts on the suit he wears. I want Sam Rockwell to tell all of us his secret professional-dancer past. All in all however, I still have fun watching this movie, and still find myself shouting "DAMN YOU SALAZAR!!!!" at the top of my lungs every once in a while.

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