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There’s a fine line between satire and other film genres. In order to achieve the category, you’ve got to subtly lampoon the traits of a given genre without being too on-the-nose about it. If you go too campy, you’ve hit parody territory, which is usually a spot reserved from poor one-time directors and Leslie Nielson. If you don’t roast the genre enough, you’re liable to make a cookie-cutter copy of the movies you’re supposed to be ridiculing. And no matter which way you go, it’s easy to lose track of the movie under a large pile of mockable material, which will take the film straight to the bottom of the barrel. A good film like “Scream” worked, while the average “Scream 2” was too direct (we won’t even go into the train-wreck that is “Scream 3”) and dismal “Scary Movie” was too over-the-top.

With the boundaries being as murky as they are, it’s hard to judge where an action movie about gun-toting schoolgirl crime fighters sadly titled “D.E.B.S.” is going to land. The premise sounds like it should head for parody, but treated delicately, it could achieve satire statue. Helping direct it is an 11-minute Sundance smash short that appropriately earned raves as a perfect action satire. The short followed three generically diverse heroes as they tried to rescue their captive comrade, who is actually in a romantic relationship with her female captor, all of which is done in the style of a episodic TV trailer. The short is quick and dynamic, and its barbs are always on target. So what worry is there in bulking the screenplay to feature-length and re-filming it for a national release?

Alas, “D.E.B.S.” loses all of its wit and charm during its makeover. Formerly snappy, the feature drags as it tells a 10-minute story for an hour and a half. Instead of jumping right in on the surprise twist, director/writer Angela Robinson oddly opts to build a boyfriend backstory for Amy, the D.E.B. destined to fall for the wrong woman. Amy (Sara Foster), the infallible blonde one, is known around the office as the perfect score, the little miss apple pie that was flawlessly built for spying. In fact, her only problem seems to be that she’s not in love with her hunky C.I.A. boyfriend (“7th Heaven’s” Geoff Stults), but being a leggy hottie in a plaid skirt, it doesn’t seem like she should have any trouble attracting more attention. Conveniently enough, her newest surveillance target is a sexually-frustrated lipstick lesbian named Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster). It’s an interesting enough twist, which saves the film from becoming another snoozer of an action flick. Had Amy fallen for a male villain, the premise would have worn thin pretty quick, as the novelty is pretty much the only thing that keeps the majority of this flick afloat.

Part of the problem might be Robinson’s rookie status, as she seems unsure how to take the film to new territory. She brought the lesbian-tweek to the table, but seems to have given her video library a workout to fill in the rest of the story. Amy’s D.E.B. teammates are all one-dimensional stereotypes that could be substituted for mannequins without much difficulty. There’s Max (Meagan Good), the angry black one in boots; Janet (Jill Richie, the lone short film transplant), the naïve white one in a frilly shirt; and Dominique (Devon Aoki), the sexy foreign smoker in high heels. The plot dissolves into teen movie territory as the girls talk boys, cute sweaters and tactical maneuvers. This isn’t the biting satire we’ve signed on for. The movie shows occasional snippets of brilliance — there’s always someone running by to narrate key plot elements, Lucy’s right-hand henchman acting more like a pimp than a criminal — but Robinson rarely strays too far from her banal narrative structure. Any credibility the film might have had is quickly destroyed by staging the climax, of course, at the prom, annoying referred to as the “Endgame.” For the most part, there seems to be so much more potential in the formula than Robinson capitalizes on — the film never explores the D.E.B.S. academy in terms of being a school, with cliques, student council and a cross country team — which is a shame because it’s hard to make a case for watching a full feature when speeding through the short is so much more satisfying.

“D.E.B.S.” reminds me a lot of 2001’s “Sugar and Spice,” another satire of an action subgenre using teenage girls. Leaving that one, I was left with the same feeling of ambivalence. In both, the satirical elements are all there, but the filmmakers never seem sure as to what kind of picture they’re making. Sadly, the commentary always takes a backseat to turning the film into just another teeny-bopped crapfest.

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originally posted: 10/02/05 04:01:09
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