Photo Darren Michaels

. Lucy Liu (as Alex), Cameron Diaz (Natalie) and Drew Barrymore (Dylan) star ine modem remake of the hit
TV series Charlie’s Angels. The Columbia Pictures comedy opens today at Park & Tilford Cineplex.

Heavenly

z= Charlie 2s Angels tek i
(out of 5) Directed by
McG. Starring Drew

- Barrymore, Cameron Diaz,
Lucy Liu and Bill Murray.

THE verdict’s still out

on whether Charlies

Angels can pass as an

empowering film for

young women, or is

mostly a hormone stim-

ulant for teenage boys.

. But no one will deny

»_ that it’s an entertaining
. bang for your buck.

; -producer Drew
Barrymore teams up with =
Cameron ‘Diaz and Lucy Liu
in‘a modern take on the pop-
ular Charlie’s Angels TV

-, show, which ran from 1976

.t0. 1981. The women play

‘7° Dylan, Natalie and Alex;

"respectively, members of an
“elite crime-fighting team”

backed by millionaire Charles -

Townsend. These angels are
- modern takes on the roles
- made famous by Farrah
. Faweett, Jaclyn Smith and.
Kate Jackson.
= “Never. send a woman to

do a man’s job” sets the tone

« for the film, which pays”.

“ homage to the original TV
scries Sie has fun with it too.

."The success of Angels lies in

the fact that it-never takes:

itself too seriously, and it:

never tries to modernize
beyond the two slighty
androgynous angel names.
Then there's the jiggle fac-
tor, which has survived the
decades since the series ran,
and of which there is plenty.
Cameron Diaz scores highest

"in the bounce-and-giggte

department, while Barrymore
wins the “most likely to be
rewound a thousand times”

"award for her naked plunge

down a hillside and her
steamy scene with a chauffeur.
But hey, there’s a plot too!
The angels join their boss,
Bosley (Bill Murray) at the

. office, where Charlie (the

original voice of Charlie from

: the TV series, John Forsythe)

gives them their newest
assignment. Young, high-tech
guru Knox (Sam Rockwell)
has been kidnapped, along

‘with his pioneering voice-
“recognition software. All leads
_ point to rival Roger Corwin

(Tim Curry), but Knox’s ;

beaudiful partner Vivian (Kelly _

Lynch) also has a motive.

After rescuing Knox,
Dylan, Alex and Natalie turn
their attention to breaking
into Corwin’s mainframe
computer to see if Knox’s
stolen technology is anywhere
on the system. The Mision:
Impossible-style break-in is
punctuated by humorous
scenes of Lucy Liu’s charac-
ter, riding crop in hand, play-
ing a dominatrix efficiency
expert to a bunch of pasty-
looking computer engineers.

The third vignette involves’

the rescue of Bosley from a
tower, and the Angels’
attempt to track down Charlie
before a revenge-hungry bad
guy does.

Tom Green (Barrymore’s
husband), Luke Wilson
(Barrymore’s ex) and Matt
LeBlanc are the men who vie
for the Angels’ affections, and
Crispin Glover and Sam

. Rockwell are good in their

villainous roles.
Director Joseph McGinty
Mitchell (*McG” for short)

wasn’t afraid to chop chunks .

out of his film, 2 nice change,
and Charlic’s Angels runs at a
trim 98 minutes. Maybe it’s
McG’s background as a music
video director. In any case,
it’s a wise choice, because the
action never lags, and every:
scene left in the film feels like

inment

it belongs there.

The soundtrack is pumped
and upbeat, helping maintain
the high energy throughout
the film. There is also a nos-
talgic smattering of songs
from the '70s and ’80s with
“angel” in the title.

There is virtually no gun-
play, but tons of Afatrix-
inspired martial arts moves.
These scenes are nothing you
haven’r seen before (or can’t
see currently, in Ang Lee’s
Crouching Tiner, Hidden
Dragon) but they are ener-
getic and inventive enough.

And some quirky touches
prove that the writers were
having fun toa: a kidnapper
doodles red pouty lips on his
duct-tape before he tapes an
Angel’s mouth shut;
Barrymore’s character does a
celebratory moon-walk after
kicking some bad-guy butt.

There was plenty of scrap-
ping going on among the
actors behind the scenes, if
the rumours are to believed,
but none of the tension is evi-
dent onscreen: the threesome
look like they’re having a ball.
The film should have no trou-
ble attracting sizeable crowds
of young men and women,
for the most part too young
to even remember the TV
show.

@ Park & Tilford Cineplex
200 — 333 Broaoksbank,
North Vancouver (985-
3911)

Bedazzled (PG) — 1:30,
3:35, 7:15, 9:30 p.m.

The Contender (14A) — 9
p.m.

Billy Elliot (PG) — 12:55,
3:25, 6:45, 9:15 p.m.
Book of Shadows: Blair
Witch 2 (18A) — 1:35,
3:45, 7:25, 9:40 pr

Little Vampire (PG) —
1:20, 3:30, 6:55 p.m.

Meet The Parents (PG)
1:25, 3:50, 7, 9:35 p.
Charlie’ 's Angels (PG) - _
1:10, 3:15, 7:10, 9:25 p.m.

B Esplanade 6 Cinemas

200 W. Esplanade, North Vancouver (983-2762)

Almost Famous (14A) — 9:25

Dr. T & the Women (PG) —Fri, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu 7,

9:30, Sat, Sun 1:40, 4:15, 7, 9:30

Ladies Man {14A) — Fri, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu 7:30, Sat,

Sun 1:35, 4:10, 7:30

Lucky Numbers (14A) — Fri, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu 7:25,

9:40 Sat, Sun 1:55, 4, 7:25, 9:40

Pay it Forward (PG) —Fri, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu 7:10,

9:50 Sar, Sun 1:45, 4:20, 7:10, 9:50

Remember the Titans (G) _ Fri, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu
7:15, 9:35 Sat, Sun 1:50, 4:25, 7:15, 9:35

The Legend of Bigger Vance (PG) —Fri, Mon, Tue, Wed,

Thu 7:05, 9:45 Sat, Sun 1:30, 4:05, 7:05, 9:

Fifth Avenue Cinemas

2110 Burrard at Sth, Vancouver (734-8700)

Best In Show (PG) — 7:30, 9:30 p.m. plus Sat/Sun 2.
4:30 p.m. and Fri/Tue 4:30 p.m.

Dancer in The Dark (14A) — 7, 9:59 p.m. plus Sat/Sun
1:15, 4:15 p.m. and Fri/Tue 4:15 p.m.

Stardom (PG) —7:10, 9:20 p.m. plus Sat/Sun 1:45, 4:45
p.m. and Fri/Tue 4:45 p.m.

Requiem For A Dream (R) —7:20, 7:40, 9:40, 10 p.m.
plus Sat/Sun 1:30, 2:15, 4, 5 p.m. and F /Tue 4, 5 p.m.
{no 7:20 p.m. show, Mon, Nov. 6, Wed, Nov. 8 and Thu,
Nov. 9)

Park Theatre

3440 Cambie at 18th, Vancouver (876-2747)

Billy Elliot (PG) — 7, 9:30 p.m. plus Sat/Sun 1:15, 4
p-m.and Fri/Tue 4 p.m.

@ Hollywood Theatre

3123 West Broadway, pancouver (738-3211)
X-Men (PG) — 7:30

Me, Myself & Irene fig) — 9:25 pm. -

§ Pacific Cinematheq
i131 Howe St., Vancouver (684- 3456)

TIE
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