Ah, Charlie's Angels, the tv show of the 70s that spawned the genre "jiggle tv" has now made its way to the big screen. Cameran Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Lui play Natalie, Dylan, and Alex, three employees of the exclusive private investigator Charles Townsend. Diaz, Barrymore, and Lui make a good trio

As per the original tv show, we never see Charlie, only hear his voice, ala the dulcet tones of John Forsythe. The work of the girls is facilitated by Bosley, played in the film by Bill Murray.

The great strength of this film is its playfulness. The setting is cleverly placed in a non-identified time. Something like the 90s with an abundance of 70s kitsch thrown in for good measure. This new breed of angels pay homage to their forebears with lots of hair tossing and emphasis on cleavage. Well, Drew Barrymore has cleavage, Cameran Diaz and Lucy Lui have plunging necklines.

There's also much playfulness as the angels go under cover in ridiculous costumes and guises, and of course, fall in love. The soundtrack tries far too hard to be cute, but there are moments that are amusing even when overplayed shamelessly. I particularly enjoyed the martial art scenes, which were as corny as could be, and a playful satire on The Matrix.

But within all this goodhearted fun, the producers omitted one thing, a story. The plot and the villains seem thrown in as afterthoughts and lower the film from camp masterpiece to merely good fun.

And Charlie's Angels is certainly fun. I'm not convinced the film has a feminist agenda, but, to put it colloquially, these girls surely do kick butt. The result is an entertaining enough film that most people will enjoy, either for the jiggle or the giggle.


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