'Charlie's Angels' is a breezy, fun 90s update of the 70s TV series

Much like its latter-day spiritual grandchild "Baywatch," "Charlie's Angels" was a daring risk for TV executives when it premiered in the mid-70s. After all, who knew if mainstream American audiences would take to the combination of fast action, lowbrow comedy and breathtakingly gorgeous women?

Luckily for stereotype enabler and show producer Aaron Spelling, the show was hugely successful, allowing star Farrah Fawcett the opportunity to leave after a few meteoric months of TV stardom and pursue her dream of becoming hopelessly insane.

Thankfully, the movie adaptation of "Charlie's Angels" keeps the elements that made the series so enjoyable, but eliminates... well, nothing really, but most of the music is new. Actually, an update for the post-90s provides the filmic equivalent of cybernetic enhancements to "Charlie's Angels'" now-sagging body - the movie is smarter, tighter, faster... better than the original series.

The titular roles are perfectly cast: Cameron Diaz plays Natalie, the tall, gorgeous, dorky one, childhood cocaine connoisseur Drew Barrymore plays Dylan, the bad girl with a sweet heart, and Lucy Liu stars as Alex, the sophisticated all-business disciplinarian. Appealing to the widest range possible of fetish fans, the characters' dispositions also complement each other well and the actresses have solid chemistry together.