"Charlie's Angels" Review: A Bad Acting Class Brought to TV
Hollywood’s constant attempts at reboots can get a little annoying. But I was willing to give ABC the benefit of the doubt thinking that maybe “Charlie’s Angels” was an idea whose time had come again.
And it may still be, but not in the form of the mess set to debut tomorrow night…
You know the story. The mysterious Charlie (who only communicates through ever present speaker phones) brings together three women to help bring down the bad guys. The difference is that these women weren’t stellar cadets at the police academy. They all committed crimes and have now been given a second chance by Charlie. There’s Abby (Rachael Taylor), Kate (Annie Ilonzeh) and Eve (Minka Kelly), who joins the angels in the premiere. They’re assisted by Bosley (Ramon Rodriguez), who in this version is a hot young guy who has a way with the ladies.
In the premiere, the angels start out with a different line-up. But when one of them dies, Abby and Kate, the remaining angels, set out to find her killer and end up teaming with Eve along the way.
The show looks so pretty at the start as the angels pull off their latest caper. But then the show attempts a storyline and the whole thing falls apart. Eve’s backstory comes out of nowhere and her connection to the case the angels were working at the beginning of the show doesn’t quite work. And the corny writing features a bunch of stilted lines like, “We’re angels. We’re not saints” and “I never thought my heart could hurt this much.” I rolled my eyes so many times I gave myself a headache.
But the biggest problem with the show is the acting. It’s terrible. Everyone looks like they’re in a bad acting class. Even the fabulous Carlos Bernard, who plays the bad guy in the premiere, comes off like a terrible actor.
Now I see why Robert Wagner walked away from playing Charlie. He probably didn’t want anything to do with this mess…
Speaking of which, I presume the voice of Charlie I heard in the screener provided to the media is a temporary one since ABC has made no announcement as to who will provide the voice. Reports are that Victor Garber is in talks to do it. I love him, so I REALLY hope he runs the other way…
Seriously, this show is that bad. I’d like to say that it will teach Hollywood a lesson about reboots, but I think we all know that’s nowhere near true…
“Charlie’s Angels” premieres Thursday, September 22nd at 8 p.m. on ABC…
Photo Credit: Bob D'Amico/ABC
