Greetings,
Hey, remember the other day when I said that one of the only things I didn't like about Shanghai Knights was lack of Lucy Liu? Well, today, we have a movie with a lot of her in it. Unfortunately, said movie and its material are so far beneath her. That must have been why Bill Murray allegedly said she couldn't act. You could have given this script to Bette Davis, and she would have come off like an amateur. And Ms. Liu was the only of the Angel actresses to NOT win a Golden Razzie for this, so... At least, that led us to getting some time with the late, great Bernie Mac as New Bosley. But I'm getting ahead of myself and my feelings for this movie. Both of them, actually, but, of course, we are only discussing sequels this week. So, ladies and gentlemen, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
So, the main plot of the film is that the Angels are tasked with retrieving a bunch of titanium rings, which, when put together, can reveal a list of people in the Witness Protection Program. Obviously, having this fall into the wrong hands would be a bad thing. Although, like I said, that is the main plot, and in these kinds of films, the main plot can often become secondary or almost non-existent, in lieu of the many subplots going on. Oh, where to begin with those.
Okay, one subplot is about Angel Natalie, Cameron Diaz's character, moving in with her boyfriend, Pete, played, once again, by Luke Wilson. Oh, honey, no. She seems to be the one who would most likely jump the Angel ship to gain herself some kind of "normal" life. Angel Alex, Lucy Liu's character, has to deal with her boyfriend, Jason, played by Matt LeBlanc, and an unexpected visit from her father played by John Cleese. Really? Okay. And finally, we have the subplot of Angel Dylan, played by Drew Barrymore. Her thing is concern that her group of Angels will end someday. Someday soon, in fact. She has a bit of a checkered past, and it's clear that this job has been the most stability and the thing most like a family that she's ever had. Wow, movie, you are trying to get too deep for your own good. Anyway, whilst all of THAT is going on, we are also dealing with the return of Madison Lee, a former Angel played by Demi Moore. Okay, so here's the thing. I am not exactly a fan of Demi Moore's, generally speaking. But credit where it's due, I'd say she's one of the best things about this movie. I won't say why, but yeah. And not to sound shallow, but she also looks absolutely amazing, giving her younger co-stars a run for their money. Oh, and I like Justin Theroux in this. He's always fun. As is another person in this Crispin Glover. He tends to be a kick in a lot of movies, for better or worse, but after that whole Back to The Future 2 thing we all heard about, I just don't know about him.
Look, I don't even know what to really say about this, considering how much the plot matters, or doesn't matter, should I say. then, there's all those subplots with which we have to deal. And finally, all of that...extra stuff we have floating around. And I don't mean like not in the movie, DVD extras. I'm talking practically Family Guy style cutaway type stuff, which I don't even know if they had a point. I was too distracted by the way that they kept putting the Angels into these weird, fetishy situations. Not unlike what they did in the first movie. Whatever. Oh, and holy crap, there were so many cameos in this thing. You can find a list on your own. I am not naming them all.
So, even though when it comes to this movie, I do not exactly approve. However, it was better than the first. Certainly less boring, but enjoyably more self-ware, which is no less than what we want from these movies. And I still have no idea why they didn't set these in the 70's like the show. You know, in a time when it would have made sense in context for most people to be thinking "WHAT?! WOMEN?! Going out and getting jobs? Good Heavens!" I would mostly classify these Charlie's Angels films in the category of 'Acquired Taste', like for guys who enjoy seeing women in fetishy situations. Tame, but...yeah, fetishy. Is that even a word? Well, it is now. Having said that, I can't figure out if this film is trying to empower women or objectify them. Can you do both at the same time? I don't know. I don't think so, but I just don't know. Yeah, I'm putting too much thought into this.
Let's just wrap this thing. Bottom line, this is not exactly my taste. And if you want to see some Lucy Liu in some good stuff, might I suggest reruns of Ally McBeal for a funny mood, or Elementary (WAY better than Sherlock!) for a more serious mood. She's worth it.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
