From the outside, "D.E.B.S." looks like the general teenybopper's dream: cute teenage girls in short plaid skirts, girl power to the extreme, catchy music, bright colors, a one-dimensional plot and an all-encompassing romance.
On the inside, the D.E.B.S. are female super spies, still in plaid miniskirts. But portraying these two versions of the same girls presents a problem for writer and director Angela Robinson, who doesn't seem to be able to decide her point of attack with the film's plot.
The movie centers on four girls chosen from a hidden test within the SAT to become secret agents for the U.S. government. These female spies, called D.E.B.S., are known for their ability to cheat, lie and fight, and they attend a private academy, complete with skimpy plaid uniforms.
The movie's heroines are the top group of spies at the academy. Amy (Sara Foster) is the "Perfect Score," or the D.E.B. who scored the highest on the secret SAT test, and is second in command.
Max (Meagan Good) is the group's leader and Amy's best friend. Max is the fiercest of the four and the most driven. Dominique (Devon Aoki) is a French sex addict who carries cigarettes and a lighter on her belt.
Finally, Janet (Jill Ritchie) is the blonde ditz who is overshadowed by her fellow agents. She still needs to earn her stripes, but she can only do so if Max gives her a favorable recommendation.
The plot begins when famed crime vixen Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster) returns from a two-year hiatus. According to legend, Lucy is famous for trying to sink Australia and for the fact that no one who has ever fought her has survived to tell about it.
It's hard to tell if the movie is supposed to a self-deprecating parody, a girl-power action-adventure comedy or a feminist/lesbian revelation. And even if Robinson intended for all of these to be included in the film, there was no possible way for each version to be covered as fully as it really needs to be. Each variation makes a point in and of itself, and combining the three makes for more confusion.
And then there is the love story between Amy and Lucy.
There are two very different ways to interpret the way homosexuality is portrayed in "D.E.B.S." It is incredibly admirable that Robinson, who also wrote and directed a lesbian vampire short film and was thanked in the credits of a comedy about a girl suspected of being a lesbian, is comfortable enough in her view of society that she is willing to put a homosexual romance at the center of her first major film and treat it like any other romance.
She is saying that homosexuality is a viable issue, no matter what, and should be addressed like any love story.
But the reality is that society is not yet like that. It is hard not to notice in this film the ease with which serious issues are bypassed. Yes, Robinson is setting the right example by ignoring the controversy, just like a parent would do to discourage the wrong behavior of their child, but the way life is right now, it's not as easy as it looked in the film.
Despite the work of many supporters of gay rights, this viewpoint is quite unrealistic today. And apart from values, Amy barely questions her newfound sexuality when she realizes her feelings for Lucy. She gives one feeble "But I'm straight," and then the torrid affair is off and running. There is no inner searching or any denial at all, which is incredibly hard to believe.
Still, the movie's moments are there. There is nothing really painfully awkward about it, except for its theme-jumping. There are some cute one-liners, such as Janet's version of the Perfect Score: "More like the perfect whore!" she scolds Amy after learning of her affair. And, of course, any movie with Holland Taylor saying, "We conduct a nationwide search for you and you're boning the bad guy?" deserves points.
