It's the awkward blending of fluffy silliness and implied raciness that undermines this thin movie.
D.E.B.S. (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:58
Fresh:23
Rotten:35
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Lacking enough material for a full-length movie, D.E.B.S. is short on both plot and laughs.
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Writer-director Angela Robinson expands a short film she showed at Sundance into this tongue-in-cheek feature, which is a satire of female spy flicks like CHARLIE'S ANGELS. The plot revolves around... Writer-director Angela Robinson expands a short film she showed at Sundance into this tongue-in-cheek feature, which is a satire of female spy flicks like CHARLIE'S ANGELS. The plot revolves around four sexy coeds handpicked to work at an exclusive spy academy on the basis of their S.A.T. scores and their superior ability to lie, cheat, steal, and kill. The squad consists of feisty team-leader Max (Meagan Good), goodie-goodie Janet (Jill Ritchie), apathetic chain-smoker Dominique (Devon Aoki), and sweet-natured Amy (Sara Foster)--who wonders if being a spy is truly her destiny. Decked out in ultra-mini plaid skirts, the D.E.B.S. (stands for Discipline, Energy, Beauty, and Strength) prepare for their most important mission yet--capturing the deadly criminal mastermind Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster). As it turns out, Lucy is little more than a helpless romantic, and when a crush develops between Lucy and Amy, the plot takes yet another twist. Over-the-top and self-referential, D.E.B.S. pokes fun at the CHARLIE'S ANGELS formula in a good-natured way, ultimately succeeding by not taking itself too seriously. Walking a thin line between parodying and emulating the genre, D.E.B.S. depends on the same aesthetic that it spoofs. In fact the only thing that truly distinguishes D.E.B.S. from films like CHARLIE'S ANGELS is that its core romance is a lesbian one. Luckily, this relationship is developed more fully than that of other action films, and is not sensationalized. A mood-appropriate 1980s soundtrack features Erasure, The Cure, and New Order. [More]
Starring: Jordana Brewster, Sara Foster, Devon Aoki, Jill Ritchie
Starring: Jordana Brewster, Sara Foster, Devon Aoki, Jill Ritchie, Meagan Good, Michael Clarke Duncan, Holland Taylor, Jimmi Simpson, Jessica Cauffiel
Director: Angela Robinson
Director: Angela Robinson
Screenwriter: Angela Robinson
Producer: Jasmine Kosovic, Andrea Sperling
Studio: Destination Films
Reviews for D.E.B.S.
The film can’t even get a spit take right... The montages don’t even follow the Trey Parker rules... They obviously reshoot the same sets without even redressing them.
With the fun, nonstop momentum of a Saturday morning cartoon, D.E.B.S. makes you forgive most of its shortcomings.
There's an undercurrent of commentary that elevates it above spoof-dom.
The character traits of the D.E.B.S. are only slightly more useful than the color-coded uniforms of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Robinson never lets her feature film debut -- expanded from a festival short after drawing raves at Sundance 2003 -- stray too far from its satiric base.
Alas, the movie isn't nearly as amusing as its premise, but it's refreshingly different from most run-of-the-mill teenage fare.
It still has some of the fun jokes and the carefree, slam-bang premise, but lacks the punch of its predecessor.
It's smarter than it has to be yet makes virtually no effort to take itself seriously.
D.E.B.S. is light and airy and frequently quite fun, yet one can't help but feel that the feature-length version is too little butter spread over too much toast.
D.E.B.S. is so unflinchingly cute that it forgets to be either funny or flat-out satiric.
It wants to be funny, or, failing that, at least fun, and yet it is neither.
The movie has no wit, no charm, no cleverness, no traction. Simply put, it is no fun.
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