Techtite DVD Reviews

The Film : (Taken from the November 3rd, 2000, opening-day review) Once upon a time, there were three little girls who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson. One became producer of the film, and chose to dye her blonde hair red. One had the title role in There's Something About Mary, and was probably the influence for making this potential action flick into an action-comedy. The third is from TV's Ally McBeal, and apparently, always wanted to star in a Jackie Chan picture (but this one will do). "Charlie" wished to take them away from all that, and now they'll be reviewed, by me. My code name...is Techtite.

Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away. However, when seeing this film, remembering the original TV classic series is nearly impossible. From salutes to classic moments of the series (particularly in the excellently chosen opening credits) to major action upgrades (the new Charlie's Angels are practically bionic women), many fans of that (other) 70's show will be quite pleased. In most cases, this "remake" succeeds, not unlike a similar film based on 70's TV, The Brady Bunch. Much like that film, these Angels know what made the original work, as well as what made the original (by the year 2000) so very dated. So they have fun with the former, and make playful parodies of the latter, making the film into a very intriguing mix.

The storyline is irrelevant. I know you've heard that before; this time it's for real. However, that's exactly the type of attitude that the original series had. It wasn't exactly sensible when the Angels would suddenly be in a women's prison, where they had to strip naked behind a brilliantly well placed divider between them and the camera (in the middle of a hallway, if memory serves). As in the '70s, the formula here is to drag any plot arc in, kicking and screaming, as long as it allows the viewer to see Diaz, Barrymore, and Liu in various skimpy outfits. This film's flirtatious innuendo, in fact, often makes Austin Powers films look like an episode of The Golden Girls in comparison. While some may have preferred actual nude scenes, the salute to 1970's TV "teasing" is still effective. After all, what red blooded American male doesn't want to see Barrymore escape from the clutches of a madman buck naked in the dark...or Diaz answering the door in her undies? They even drag in a subplot, where Diaz's character wants to become a dancer for Soul Train, which allows us to see her "shake her booty" in front of the mirror...again, in her underwear (what else?).

Charlie's Angels had some thought put into it, however. No, really; I'm sure of it. No "remake" movie project is easy, no matter how simplistic it may look on the surface. Lost in Space and Wild Wild West are just two examples of attempted movies based on classic TV, that floundered at the box office. Why, you ask? Because modern directors always want to upgrade a classic, no matter how much of a possible oxymoron "upgraded classic" is. However, fans of the classic, hate to see their memories toyed with. People don't like it when a giant mechanical spider is suddenly thrown into a film based on the old west. Turn their favorite flying saucer into a flying oval, and they're even less forgiving. Fortunately, there's little changed in the Charlie's Angels formula, and there is more than enough (as the cynics used to say in the 70's) "giggles and jiggles" to go around. Each chosen scene should appeal to all boys in the audience, that's for sure.

It might appeal to the women, too. Wisely, all of the borderline sexist undertones of the film are not taken as seriously as they were in the TV show, and are often played as a parody. With Drew Barrymore as one of the producers, some scenes even have a slightly feministic edge. Women will particularly like the scenes where Liu makes a room full of white-collar office men into putty in her hands, or when she practically breaks Tim Curry's neck. All three girls have several additional chances to break even more body parts, of other villains in the picture. With such scenes, Producer Barrymore seems to be saying, "Yes, I know the series was sexist, but who can resist being able to pretend you're a Charlie's Angel?" She, Diaz, and Liu apparently wanted to be an Angel throughout their '70s childhood --as did many other girls-- and finally get their chance. No woman this side of Ms. Magazine should deny them this.

However, many might feel teased a bit too much, among all of the films in a very different age. From Sharon Stone to Nicole Kidman, teasing is a lost art, and has been replaced with head-on total nudity. Not that I'm terribly against that, though I can see the fun that can be had by being teased, and not hit on the noggin with gratuitous body parts. Regardless, with one of the "Angels" as producer --and with all potential nude scenes watered down in the process-- the feeling is not unlike going to a Bachelor Party hosted by your sister...but on the plus side, she brought all her cute friends. It may not be Basic Instinct or Pulp Fiction, though it's hard to not give these girls a thumbs-up for effort.

The DVD : There's a lot of extras, though are they worth it? Among the disappointments is the "blooper & outtake reel," which is really just the same bloopers that were shown during the credits, edited and cropped to resemble a music video The only difference is that the credits don't appear while watching it. There must have been many bloopers during this film; not being able to see them, aside from little snippets in a music video montage, is a bit disappointing.

As for deleted scenes, there are only three. In a film that lasted only 99 minutes, it's surprising that, allegedly, only these 3 scenes were deleted, though suffice to say these are the only deleted scenes offered. Among them is "Marco Polo," where the already peculiar party scene (with Tim Curry and Bill Murray as padded up sumo wrestlers) includes a pool scene where Curry and Murray play the classic pool game, Marco Polo. This would've been cool if the Angels were in bikinis as well, though the only girls in the scene are non-credited models, used mostly as backdrops. Second, there's "The Men's Room," deleted from the scene when Diaz and Barrymore are disguised as businessmen to enter the high-security area. Basically, it involves them having to quickly hide from Tim Curry, as they almost enter the Ladies' room, then quickly realize they're dressed as men, and go to the men's room instead (a joke in the men's room, of the ladies acting like men discussing the new chip near Curry, just doesn't work; probably why they deleted it). Last, there's "Shake & Bake," in a scene where Barrymore almost has a romantic moment with her "client." However, nothing really happens, so this is rather disappointing as well.

For the techno-savvy, there are featurettes, separated into different fields of interest. Fashion, Martial Arts, Stunts, and Special FX are all given their own behind the scenes time. Director McG offers his own featurette, as well as an audio commentary track, where he and the cinematographer share an anecdote or two. Completing the bonuses is a pair of music videos made for the film, all the trailers used for the film, and even a few additional trailers, of popular Columbia Pictures films "coming soon."

Note : Final Fantasy game fans might also like the teaser trailer for the film, included on this DVD's trailers section.

All this begs the question: is any of this worth buying the DVD? Well, let's just say that if you loved the film, you'll be pleased with the DVD. If you merely liked the film, well, maybe you should rent the DVD version anyway, to see some amusing behind the scenes clips of Barrymore, Liu, and Diaz having fun in their roles. These aren't the types of actresses who are seen "behind the scenes" very often, and it's amusing to see them laughing and having a good time as they portray their Charlie's Angels roles. Barrymore, as one of the films Producers, hardly lost her shirt (no pun intended) with a film that cost 92 million to make and raked in over 125 million at the box office. However, if 33 million isn't enough of a "profit" to the others who invested in the film, sales of this DVD should help. The deleted scenes and outtakes are disappointing, though sho doesn't want an entire DVD worth of featurettes of Diaz, Liu, and Barrymore jumping, joking, and kicking?

	Final Rating : Small Crater. While no remake is as good as the original, the film keeps true to the "giggle/jiggle" formula, and the result is a campy, fun, harmless film.
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Charlie's Angels

A Techtite Review