D.E.B.S.

A groan-inducing comedy about a quartet of college coeds who are part of an elite squad of government agents, D.E.B.S. starts off as a heavy-handed, clumsy farce notable only for its candy-colored sets and costumes. But then it takes a really disastrous turn when the squeaky-clean leader of the girls (Sara Foster) finds herself attracted to the luscious assassin Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster) whom they've been assigned to track down (the lesbian angle might have been amusing had it been handled with panache, but it's treated dully here). The look of the film was obviously inspired by Clueless, but in terms of the writing, direction, and performances it doesn't so much emulate that picture as personify its title; in fact, even the most tolerant viewers may quickly tire of the lame shenanigans and find themselves nodding in agreement at such self-referential bits of dialogue as “This is retarded” and “This could not get any worse.” Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions, audio commentaries by both writer-director Angela Robinson and the cast, a “making of” featurette, a collection of expanded and deleted scenes, production stills, a music video, an early D.E.B.S. comic, and an “animatic” episode of a once-planned but aborted Internet series. Bottom line: all the bells and whistles in the world doesn't make this a better film.] (F. Swietek)