Themes: Unlikely Heroes, Righting the Wronged, Inner City Blues
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Plot
Writer/director Agustin helmed this 2003 Charlie's Angels parody about a trio of no-nonsense Latinas fighting crime in the hood. Evly G. Pacheco, Alessandra Ramos, and Jeni Garcia star as Roxy, Tina, and Marisol respectively, a team of sexy scantily clad ladies who jump into action whenever they get word from their faceless boss, Carlito. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
Three beautiful homegirls from Spanish Harlem keep their hood safe from interlopers in this urban spoof of Charlie's Angels. Director Agustin clearly knows the streets he goofs on, and while this insider status lends an affectionate quality to his gags, he celebrates negative stereotypes and clichés that would get any other filmmaker deemed a racist. One Angel is an incorrigible pothead, another is a tramp who can't hold down a job, and the third has a dozen illegitimate children whom she ignores. The thin plot finds the Angels on the trail of a white stripper who's been sleeping with some neighborhood Latino men, but before long, they stumble upon an even more heinous crime. A local gangster is planning on fixing the weekly numbers racket, and the girls have to act fast, because for these impoverished inner-city folk, "it's all we have!" Aside from the often depressing stereotypes, the jokes usually fall flat, relying too often on simple pop-culture references and profanity than real humor. Some might expect more nudity than this low-budget production delivers, but the Angels are consistently decked out in revealing, skin-tight outfits that accentuate every considerable curve (particularly a flesh-tone bikini top that Alessandra Ramos sports for the first half of the film), so girl-watchers still get an eyeful. The funniest gags are lifted wholesale from the blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!, but Carlito's Angels has energy, if nothing else, and the climactic mud-wrestling fight is an inspired finale. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
