D.E.B.S. (2004 film)

D.E.B.S.
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Angela Robinson
Produced by	Andrea Sperling
Written by	Angela Robinson
Starring	Sara Foster Jordana Brewster Meagan Good Devon Aoki Jill Ritchie
Music by	Steven M. Stern
Cinematography	M. David Mullen
Editing by	Angela Robinson
Distributed by	Samuel Goldwyn Films Destination Films Screen Gems
Release date(s)	January 22, 2004 (2004-01-22) (Sundance) March 25, 2005 (2005-03-25)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3.5 million
Box office	$97,446[1]

D.E.B.S. is a 2004 American action-comedy film written and directed by Angela Robinson. It is an expansion of a short film D.E.B.S. that made the festival circuit (including the Sundance Film Festival). The film is both a parody and an emulation of the Charlie's Angels format. The plot revolves around the lesbian love story between one of the heroes and the villain.

Plot

Four coeds are about to graduate from a secret academy, where they have been trained to become spies in the paramilitary group D.E.B.S. (Discipline, Energy, Beauty, and Strength). Candidates are selected through a test hidden in the SATs that measures an applicant's ability to cheat and lie. The team is headed by the somewhat obsessive Max (Meagan Good), who tends to draw her gun at the slightest provocation. The other team members are the somewhat naive Janet (Jill Ritchie), the chain-smoking and promiscuous Dominique (Devon Aoki), and Amy (Sara Foster), who is doubtful about being a spy, despite the fact that she earned a perfect score on her D.E.B.S. test and is now an honor student at the academy. As the film opens, Amy has broken up with her boyfriend Bobby (Geoff Stults), a Homeland Security agent. Her personal life takes a back seat to the re-emergence of Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster), a criminal mastermind who, by coincidence, is the subject of Amy's thesis. The D.E.B.S. are sent by the head of D.E.B.S., Miss Petrie (Holland Taylor), to survey Lucy. They arrive at the restaurant Les Deux Amours expecting to witness criminal dealings. Little do they know that Diamond has simply been set up on a blind date by her chief henchman and best friend, Scud (Jimmi Simpson). She is there to meet an ex-KGB assassin named Ninotchka Kaprova (Jessica Cauffiel). The date is a disaster. Bobby shows up to confront Amy about their breakup, but accidentally alerts Diamond to the spies overhead. A shootout erupts, and Diamond escapes in the chaos. The D.E.B.S. follow her, splitting up into two groups with Max and Dominique going one way, and Amy and Janet going the other. Amy and Janet get separated and Amy literally runs into Lucy in a large storage room. They quickly end up in a standoff, with Amy trying to convince Lucy to come quietly. Lucy instead charms Amy (who is surprised to learn Lucy is gay, since none of the material she studied for her thesis reveals this) into lowering her guard and disappears the moment Amy's attention wavers. When the other D.E.B.S. arrive, they praise Amy for being the only federal agent who has ever encountered Lucy and lived to tell about it.

Despite Scud's protests ("Not only is she a D.E.B., She's the D.E.B.! She's the perfect score!"), Lucy returns to the squad's residence that night to talk to Amy, with whom she is quite taken. They fight, until Lucy gains the upper hand and forces Amy to go out with her for a night of fun. However, they encounter Janet outside the house. Lucy has no choice but to bring Janet along or risk discovery. They drive to an underground club called The Junk Pit.

Janet ends up bonding with Scud while Lucy further charms Amy. Lucy is intrigued by Amy's intellect, her breakup with Bobby, and her obvious doubts about being a spy. Amy is fascinated to discover that much of Lucy's deadly reputation has been carefully manufactured. Lucy senses Amy's attraction and leans in to kiss her — only to be interrupted by a shocked Janet.

Lucy takes the two D.E.B.S. home. Janet is indignant, claiming that Amy is violating protocol, and is further troubled at learning Amy might be a lesbian. Amy blackmails her into silence. The next day, Miss Petrie meets with Amy and promotes her to squad leader, effectively replacing Max. Max is furious, but must follow Amy as they respond to a bank heist orchestrated by Lucy.

At the bank, Amy and Max bicker over the best approach to rescuing the hostages and capturing Lucy, who, despite Scud's disapproval, has committed the crime solely for an opportunity to see Amy again. Amy rushes blindly forward and the squad gets trapped inside a vault. A chute opens under Amy's feet; she falls out of the vault, leaving the other three behind. Amy arrives in the bank's basement, where Lucy is waiting for her. They kiss, and Lucy asks Amy to come with her. The D.E.B.S. arrive in the basement to find Lucy's callsign, diamonds, Amy's tie, and a note spray-painted on the wall reading "I have the girl." They assume Amy has been kidnapped, though Janet seems to know exactly what has happened.

Miss Petrie organizes a nationwide manhunt to find Amy. Janet desperately tried to keep Amy apprised of the situation, but Amy never hears any of Janet's phone messages. Amy shares her art school dream with Lucy, who suggests running off to Barcelona together, where Amy can attend art school and Lucy will rent sailboats to tourists. Lucy and Amy are seen by a jealous Ninotchka, who anonymously tips Max to their location.

They catch the two women in bed making out. Mortified, Amy returns to the D.E.B.S and attempts to explain herself. Miss Petrie is ready to exile her, but Max steps in with an alternative to save Amy's reputation and thus prevent the D.E.B.S from looking foolish. Tearfully, Amy agrees to comply.

Meanwhile, Lucy does everything she can to win Amy back, returning all the money she has ever stolen. Finally, she and Scud, by now supportive of Lucy's devotion to Amy, plan to crash the D.E.B.S. year-end dance, Endgame, where Amy is to be made D.E.B. of the year. Lucy fights her way to the auditorium, where she is just in time to hear Amy publicly condemn her. She is saddened, but catches Amy's eye and smiles hopefully. Amy retracts her entire speech, and admits that the days she spent with Lucy were the best days of her life, before running offstage. She and Lucy find each other in a storage room very like the one in which they first met, and they share another long-awaited kiss. Max and the squad catch up to them, but Max has by this time reconciled herself with the fact that her best friend is in love. She lets them go and misdirects Bobby and the security squad so that Amy and Lucy can make their escape. Scud then starts to ask something of Janet, who agrees before he has even finished speaking.

Lucy and Amy drive off together into the night.

Cast

• Sara Foster as Amy Bradshaw
• Jordana Brewster as Lucy Diamond
• Meagan Good as Max Brewer
• Devon Aoki as Dominique
• Jill Ritchie as Janet
• Geoff Stults as Bobby Matthews
• Jimmi Simpson as Scud
• Holland Taylor as Mrs. Petrie
• Michael Clarke Duncan as Mr. Phipps
• Jessica Cauffiel as Ninotchka Kaprova
• Aimee Garcia as Maria
• Scoot McNairy as Stoner

Production

Inception

Director, writer, and editor Angela Robinson began to draw comics about the D.E.B.S. in college as a sideline to her writing (Robinson stated this in an extra on the U.S. DVD entitled "Infiltrating the D.E.B.S."). She received a $20,000 grant from Power Up to make a 10-minute short based on the concept, which toured a number of film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival.

Reception

Critics

D.E.B.S. received mixed reviews, garnering a 40% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 58 reviews.^[2]

Box office

D.E.B.S. did not receive a wide release, maxing out at a mere 45 theaters. After 21 days, it amassed only $97,446.^[3]

Awards and nominations

Year	Festival	Award	Category/Recipients
2004	Berlin International Film Festival	Reader Jury of the "Siegessäule"	Angela Robinson
2005	Black Movie Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Writing	Angela Robinson (Nominated)
2005	Black Movie Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Meagan Good (Nominated)

References

1. ^ D.E.B.S. at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2009-10-09.
2. ^ D.E.B.S. (2004 film) at Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2009-10-09.
3. ^ D.E.B.S. (2004)

External links

• D.E.B.S. at the Internet Movie Database
• D.E.B.S. at AllRovi