Almost 23 years ago, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, and Drew Barrymore broke down barriers for female action movie stars—possibly reinforcing gender stereotypes in the process.
The Charlie’s Angels franchise got its start in 1976 as a television program. From there, three films have been produced. In comparison to Elizabeth Banks’ 2019 film (of the same name), the 2000 movie with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu received better reviews.
Critics gave McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol) movie mixed to positive reviews, praising Diaz, Barrymore, and Liu’s acting as well as the humor and action scenes while criticizing the plot and “lack of originality”.
In an interview with Insider, Drew Barrymore, who produced and starred in the movie, pointed out some decisions she made while filming Charlie’s Angels that might have gone unnoticed but helped advance the representation of women.
Drew Barrymore’s Unseen Rule Steered The Iconic Trio Of Charlie’s Angels
On The Drew Barrymore Show, Drew Barrymore has developed a reputation for her frank and vulnerable interviewing style. Moreover, she also played a key role in developing film characters that were instantly recognizable as heroes to young women all over the world in the early 2000s.
In an interview with Insider, she talked about some choices she made while filming Charlie’s Angels that might have gone unnoticed.
Barrymore co-produced the 2000 film while starring alongside Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu. She acknowledged to Insider that she was unsure of how it appeared on screen, but she was adamant that the well-known detective team did not “act like men or try to pretend they were masculine” even as they were engaged in physical combat.
The actress, 48, characterized her character Dylan Sanders and her teammates, Alex Munday (played by Liu) and Natalie Cook (played by Diaz) as women who did not
“Want to all of a sudden become men and or hate men or try to be the man.”
She claimed that the angels were also “dating crazy” at the same time:
“While they’re kicking someone’s a**, they’d be like, ‘anyway, last night, hold on’. Like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And then he didn’t call me back.”
Barrymore described the sound effects of the fight as:
“And that’s how girls really are in real life.”
Also read: Drew Barrymore Apologises For Her Comments on Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Trial
Drew Barrymore’s Perspectives on Feminism
With their electrifying performances as fearless crime fighters in the early 2000s (Charlie’s Angels), the trio (Drew Barrymore, Billy Murray, and Lucy Liu) won hearts all over the world. As Drew Barrymore assumed the roles of co-producer and star, she made the decision to leave no stone unturned in the film.
The Charlie’s Angels, according to Barrymore, were the best representations of feminism as she said:
“I don’t want to all of a sudden become men or hate men or try to be the man. It’s like, no, we’re the girls, and they are boys. We’re just like there’s something we’ve got to do, and we want to do it together.”
She added that women don’t
“Have to take down the other gender or pretend to be like it.”
Barrymore, Diaz, and, Liu returned to their roles in the 2003 sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. The new generation of Angels was later portrayed by Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska in the 2019 follow-up (with the same name).
However, Elizabeth Banks’ film received mixed reviews from critics and had a weak opening weekend at the box office. Both USA Today and Variety listed the movie as one of the biggest box office letdowns of 2019.
Well, viewers can stream Charlie’s Angels (2000) on the Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel.
Source- Insider
