'Charlie's Angels' Is Easy On The Eyes
By by EUNICE KOO, Assistant Arts Editor
Move over Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams-commercialized girl power has arrived. "Charlie's Angels" are a crime-fighting trio-Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Alex (Lucy Liu) and Dylan (Drew Barrymore)-funded by an anonymous, reclusive millionaire named Charles "Charlie" Townsend. Together, they form an elite private investigative unit hired by a company called Knox Technologies.

The three angels use their wit and charms to investigate a case involving software that has been stolen from Knox. The software includes a high-tech voice recognition system that enables the possessor to find any cell phone user via a global satellite system. The assignment is to find the software before the thieves put it to nefarious purposes.

The three literally do anything for the sake of their mission; from flirting with a limousine driver to dressing up as an Austrian yodeling troupe, the trio is always in action. The fight scenes are well-choreographed and fluid, and the angels seem to know the perfect strategy to defeat any opponent. The vixenish angels bare a lot of skin throughout, so a viewer's opinion of the movie could easily depend on his or her sexual orientation.

Throughout the movie, the girls struggle to keep their true identities a secret from their significant others. They are constantly running out in the middle of intimate conversations without explanation.

"Charlie's Angels" strives to make the audience laugh, not to hit any intellectual chords. At times, however, the humor is overdone. The high-pitched voices and general ditziness of the characters become redundant.

In one particularly pointless scene, the girls are at a gala dinner looking for a suspect. Diaz ends up crushing on a waiter. After dropping some pathetic lines, she is saved by flipping her hair, thus attracting the waiter's waning attention. This is slightly funny, but mostly wince-inducing.

All in all, the film provides two hours of pure, lighthearted entertainment. It has appeal for all types of audiences. Just don't expect anything supremely original or thought-provoking.

Issue 10, Submitted 2000-11-14 22:10:48