Review of D.E.B.S. (2003) by Sarah E — 13 Jun 2010

This movie is cheesy. The script was etched into Kraft Singles slices. The sets were constructed from Camembert. The cast and crew were paid in Gouda. And yet, for some reason, D.E.B.S. proves itself to be a smart, sweet film. Think James Bond meets Clueless meets Black Diamond and you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about. Or you won't. I'm not even sure I understand the combination; all I know is that I like it.

D.E.B.S., we are told, are recruited via a secret test written into the SATs that measures their capabilities as a spy. If chosen, they attend a private all-girls academy to become secret agent, spending their days tracking dangerous criminals and nights tucked away behind a security system in suburbia. Amy (Sara Foster) is the D.E.B.S. perfect score, that is, a young woman who achieved a perfect mark on the hidden test, and she is being groomed as the organization's elite poster child. Outwardly, she is like any other young woman, maintaining a close friendship with Max (Meagan Good), a headstrong, ambitious D.E.B. who can only pine and pray to earn half the credit that Amy has with her perfect score while recovering from a break-up with boyfriend Bobby (who attends a similar all-boy academy). Inside, however, Amy is searching for something else. Of course she finds that something in criminal mastermind Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster), who, despite having a severe phobia of commitment, finds herself inexplicably attracted to Amy. Using Amy's academic interests in her, Lucy seduces Amy, and like so many before them, the two become forbidden lovers, which is really where the problems begin for these two.

Though D.E.B.S. features an attractive cast of the thin and pretty, the movie handles its lesbian relationship with a lot of heart instead of mindless titillation. Lucy and Amy spend most of the movie struggling to come to terms with their emotions, leading to scenes of intimacy that, while undoubtedly attractive to male audiences, don't seem forced or inexplicable. Nevertheless, D.E.B.S. doesn't take itself too seriously, preferring the ludicrous to the realistic, making for a funny, whimsical, but downright cheesy film.