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 In
the wonderful world of show business, counter-programming refers
to the usually effective strategy of releasing two completely
different movies at the same time so that each film will appeal
to its targeted demographic. For example, when Star Wars: Episode
I – The Phantom Menace and the Julia Roberts romantic comedy
Notting Hill opened on the same weekend back in May of
1999, both films did extremely well at the box office by scoring
with sci-fi fans and adult moviegoers respectively.
The same
theory applies to the Sundance Film Festival. High up in the cold
mountain air of Park City, Utah, the festival is a bona-fide mecca
for independent films that cater to a more sophisticated audience.
This year’s fest (celebrating its 20th anniversary) is no exception,
with challenging films that require a deeper level of commitment
from the moviegoer – films like The Woodsman (with Kevin
Bacon as a reformed paedophile), November (a non-linear
psychological thriller featuring Courteney Cox) and The Machinist
(starring an emaciated Christian Bale).
With so many
intense films on the menu, why not have a little fun by providing
dedicated moviegoers with a little dessert after a week of too
many full-course meals? To that extent, the sexy, disarmingly
good-natured and enormously entertaining spy spoof D.E.B.S.
hits the spot as a Charlie’s Angels meets Bring It On
style retro-romp with loads of charm, lots of action and a great-looking
cast dressed in skimpy schoolgirl outfits.
Hey, with
a premise like that, what’s not to like?
Welcome to
the underground institution known as D.E.B.S – an acronym for
Discipline, Energy, Beauty and Strength – where bright young girls
are trained to become secret agents with a keen sense of fashion.
This year’s top squad includes straight-A student Amy (Sara Foster),
fearless leader Max (Meagan Good), goody-two-shoes Janet (Jill
Ritchie) and sex-starved Dominique (Devon Aoki). They face their
greatest challenge yet when they take on the deadly Lucy Diamond
(Jordana Brewster), but when Lucy and Amy fall for each other,
Amy is forced to make a difficult decision. Will she turn her
back on her fellow D.E.B.S. and shack up with Lucy, or will she
do what’s right in an effort to save the world?
After her
short film of the same name generated plenty of buzz at last year’s
Sundance Film Festival, writer-director-editor Angela Robinson
returns only one year later with her expanded feature. The fact
that the film is as polished and assured as this is an accomplishment
in itself, but even beyond that, the pace is brisk, the tone is
appropriately tongue-in-cheek and the colorful production values
are surprisingly top-notch considering its quick turnaround time
and (presumably) low-budget.
It’s hard
to criticize the performances in a film like this, but it’s safe
to say that all the D.E.B.S hit their mark. Sara Foster is charming
as hell as the sexually confused super student Amy, while Jill
Ritchie (the only actress to return from the original short) is
just as effective as the prim-and-proper Janet. Meagan Good shows
plenty of girl power as Max, and after hitting the skids in last
summer’s 2
Fast 2 Furious, Devon Aoki exudes plenty of sex appeal
as Dominique. As the evil-but-lonely Lucy Diamond, Jordana Brewster
is too beautiful for words, and Jimmi Simpson gives the film just
the right amount of comic relief as Brewster’s wisecracking sidekick.
Counter-programming
or not, D.E.B.S. is a fun-filled film that should find
a solid audience when it is released later this year (and if distributor
Screen Gems markets the film properly, it could have a potential
franchise on its hands). If the film’s positive reception by the
Sundance crowd is any indication, then D.E.B.S. is just
what the doctor ordered, and with more movies like this on the
bill, next year’s Sundance Film Festival can’t get here fast enough.
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