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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
D.E.B.S.
As if there wasn't enough importance already placed on the SATs, imagine if
the government had developed a way to judge a young woman's potential secret
agent skills by her performance on the exam. Girls all over the country
would be discreetly recruited for a secret academy designed to train the
next generation of spies. That's the premise of D.E.B.S.
(discipline, energy, beauty, strength), a teen comedy that also doubles as a
spoof of the James Bond films and their imitators.
Amy (Sara Foster) is the only girl who has ever earned a perfect score on
the secret test within the SAT. She's worshiped by most of the other
D.E.B.S, much to the chagrin of her squad's testy leader Max (Meagan Good).
Also in Amy's squad are prim Janet (Jill Ritchie) and provocative Dominique
(Devon Aoki, who gets the most laughs with her ludicrous French accent). As
the story begins, their boss Mr. Phipps (Michael Clarke Duncan, whose lack
of substantial screen time is unfortunate) gives them their next mission: to
find and apprehend the infamous thief Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster).
While spoofs can be funny, they often tend to wear out their welcome
quickly. At first, this appears true for D.E.B.S., but the movie has
a trick up its sleeve: a lesbian romance. This development alone is quite a
surprise, but the way the movie proceeds from that point is not. Nearly
every "forbidden love" cliché is invoked, such as the socially acceptable
alternative (a young CIA agent played by Geoff Stults).
Although the characters are of college age, it's clear this is a metaphor
for emerging teenage sexuality. Once D.E.B.S. devotes its story to
romance, the secret-agent trappings offer virtually nothing from the
mid-point on, becoming very extraneous. Instead, the movie becomes in part a
plea for tolerance in a language adolescents can understand: the
action-comedy. In that light, it's worth a look. Rob Glidden
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