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D.E.B.S.
Directed & Written by: Angela Robinson.
Produced by: Andrea Sperling & Jasmine Kosovic.
Director of Photography: M. David Mullen.
Music by: Steven Stern.
Released by: Destination/Samuel Goldwyn.
Country of Origin: USA. 91 min. Rated: PG-13.
With: Sara Foster, Jordana Brewster, Meagan Good, Jill Ritchie, Devon Aoki, Jimmi Simpson, Geoff Stults, Holland Taylor & Michael Clarke Duncan.

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
March 25, 2005

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