'Full Throttle' continues goofy charm of first 'Angels' flick

Demi Moore gives an excellent comic turn as a villainous ex-Angel.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
"Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" is that rare sequel that's not only bigger -- in terms of budget, special-effects and guest stars -- but actually better than the original.
Supersized with the same goofy throwaway humor, large-scale (yet tongue-in-cheek) action set pieces, and charming unforced chemistry among Angels Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu that made the '00 mega-smash so much fun, "Full Throttle" is the summertime-movie equivalent of cotton candy. It might not be nutritious, and it's probably not good for you, but darn if that ball of shocking pink sugar floss doesn't taste great going down.
Although intentionally inflating everything to "event movie" proportions, director McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol) and producer-star Barrymore don't skimp on the first outing's larkish, she-devil-may-care attitude. As expected, the film goes to great lengths (and expense) to replicate all the stuff that worked previously. Fans will be happy to know that underneath their Gucci, Prada and Dolce & amp; Gabbana designer labels, these Angels are the same pretzel-and-beer-loving good-time girls from the first "Charlie's." Here's one instance where familiarity breeds contentment, not boredom.
Effective casting
The major news in "Full Throttle" is the replacement of Bill Murray with funnyman Bernie Mac as Bosley, and '90s It Girl Demi Moore's much ballyhooed screen comeback as a fallen Angel who makes life positively hellish for our heroines. On both counts, the casting lives up to the hype.
Mac is effortlessly funny and seems genuinely happy to be here -- unlike Murray, who looked supremely agitated whenever he had to trade banter with Natalie (Diaz), Dylan (Barrymore) and Alex (Liu).
If most of the pre-release chatter centered on how "hot" the 40-year-old Moore looks in a bikini, the former Brat Packer's sharp comic performance is the real surprise. Moore's renegade agent Madison Lee has a single-mindedness and yoga-class intensity that are a perfect match for the actress's trademark frostiness. Her Angel-on-Angels brawl is more impressive (and a good deal funnier) than the film's already legendary -- thanks to the Pink video -- motocross scene.
The screenplay (credited to Cormac Wibberley, John August and Marianne Wibberley) does a decent job of connecting jaw-dropping stunts with quirky bits of character business which, under the circumstances, is really all it's required to do. Once again, the Angels are called into action when a baddie (guess who?) absconds with the code to a list containing every name on the federal witness protection program. Their assignment gets personal, though, when Dylan learns that the killer she helped put behind bars (Justin Theroux of "Mulholland Drive") is now loose and seeking revenge.
Influences
Although McG credits Hitchcock, David Lean and Mike Nichols in the press notes as his biggest influences, the director whose signature style he seems to have borrowed the most from is John Landis of "Animal House" fame. Like Landis' great party movies of the '80s (especially "The Blues Brothers" and "Into the Night"), "Full Throttle" has a zany, go-for-broke velocity that makes just about anything possible, including cameos by Bruce Willis, Carrie Fisher and TV Angel Jaclyn Smith.
Plus, McG takes as much delight in showcasing Los Angeles as Landis did memorializing Chicago in the Jake and Elwood saga. The City of Angels (how appropriate is that?) has never seemed more delectably ditzy or absurdly glamorous.
XWrite Milan Paurich at milanpaurich@aol.com.