''D.E.B.S.'' is a 2003 American

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

written and directed by Angela Robinson. ''D.E.B.S.'' made the film festival circuit including the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

L.A. Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

and New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, receiving a total of seven film festival awards. ''D.E.B.S.'' is both a parody and an emulation of the ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

'' (2000) format. It features a lesbian love story between one of the heroes and the villain. "Debs" is also short for

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...

Plot

A narrator explains that there is a test hidden in the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

s which measures an applicant's ability to fight, cheat, lie and kill. Female students who score well on this hidden test are selected to become members of the secret paramilitary group D.E.B.S. which stands for Discipline, Energy, Beauty and Strength. Focusing on one squad of D.E.B.S. composed of the team captain Amy, the tough Max, French exchange student Dominique, and the prissy and insecure Janet, all of whom face off against a ruthless villain named Lucinda Reynolds, also known as Lucy in the Sky. Spoofing television prime time shows, a recap shows the team's boss Mr. Tibbs explaining that Lucy in the Sky was spotted entering the United States again. Max is frustrated knowing that for some reason Lucy keeps capturing Amy and the team has to rescue her. Amy is captured, leading to Max to take over the team to lead them to Lucy's hideout in a dockside warehouse. Max, Janet, and the chain-smoking Dominique make entry into Lucy's hideout and soon are facing off in a gun battle with Lucy's henchmen, led by her right-hand man Billy Skids. Meanwhile, unknown to either Lucy's henchmen or the D.E.B.S., Lucy and Amy are lovers and Lucy keeps capturing Amy so that the two of them can have sex, with Amy timing them to know when her colleagues will appear to "rescue" her. This time Lucy becomes frustrated over the same routine they have to go through over their secret romance each time. Amy then tells Lucy that she really loves her, and Lucy is happy. Elsewhere, Max, Janet, and Dominique defeat Lucy's henchmen (with Dominique never dropping the cigarette she's smoking, and Max having an all-too-brief meeting of minds with Skids during their fistfight, while Janet is just determined not to get her favorite sweater ruined). The three D.E.B.S. arrive at a locked door to Lucy's quarters where they hear Amy screaming out, leading them to try to break down the door. But Amy is not screaming in pain, but in passion as she climaxes from the sex. Lucy and Amy quickly dress where Amy tells Lucy that she can capture her again next week during the D.E.B.S. mission to Uganda. On cue from Amy, Lucy punches her out and makes her escape as Max, Janet, and Dominique arrive, none of them aware to Amy's secret tryst with the enemy. Amy thanks them for rescuing her—again. The four D.E.B.S. walk out of the warehouse and into the sunset as Janet asks Amy if that is her sweater that she's wearing and if she got blood or any dirt on it.

Cast

Alexandra Breckenridge Alexandra Breckenridge (born May 15, 1982) is an American actress. She began her career with supporting roles in the teen comedy films '' Big Fat Liar'' (2002) and ''She's the Man'' (2006). She later played reporter Willa McPherson in the FX ...

as Amy *

Tammy Lynn Michaels Tammy Lynn Michaels (née Doring), also known by the surname Etheridge from her relationship with Melissa Etheridge, is an American actress. Michaels portrayed mean girl Nicole Julian on The WB's '' Popular''. Career Michaels developed a passi ...

as Max * Shanti Lowry as Dominique *

Jill Ritchie Jill Susanne Ritchie (born March 5, 1974) is an American former actress. Early life Ritchie was born Jill Susanne Ritchie in Romeo, Michigan, on March 5, 1974, the daughter of Susan and William "Bill" Ritchie (1941–2024), who owned multiple ...

as Janet *

Clare Kramer Clare Kramer is an American actress. Her credits include ''Bring It On (film), Bring It On'' (2000), ''The Rules of Attraction'' (2002), ''D.E.B.S. (2003 film), D.E.B.S.'' (2003), ''Tru Calling'' (2004), ''The Thirst (film), The Thirst'' (2006) ...

as Lucy Diamond * Daryl Theirse as Mr. Tibbs * James Buckhammer II as Billy Skids

Significance

The move from a short film to a feature-length film for this lesbian-themed film is significant not only because of the theme but because several of the persons involved in this short are lesbians (director Angela Robinson,

) and the short was sponsored by a grant from

POWER UP POWER UP (the "Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up") is an American non-profit organization and film production company with the stated mission "to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment ...

, which promotes gay women in entertainment. When moving from the short to the feature film version, Robinson told

AfterEllen.com ''AfterEllen'' is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminis ...

that "The relationship between Amy and Lucy is still the heart of the movie... Screen Gems has been outrageously supportive. I was not pressured to tone down the relationship — if anything, we worked together... to make the relationship more complex and intimate".Warn, Sarah
Interview with Angela Robinson of D.E.B.S.
Published July 2003. Accessed 27 February 2007. Robinson's interview allayed concerns that the lesbian relationship would be written out or downplayed on the Hollywood big screen as it has in other story-based movies such as ''

Fried Green Tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel '' Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, J ...

''.

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D.E.B.S. 2003 films 2003 short films 2003 action comedy films 2000s high school films 2003 independent films 2000s parody films 2000s teen comedy films American action comedy films American high school films American independent films American parody films American spy comedy films American teen comedy films American teen LGBTQ-related films American comedy short films Films directed by Angela Robinson Films produced by Andrea Sperling Girls with guns films Lesbian-related films LGBTQ-related comedy films American LGBTQ-related short films 2000s spy comedy films 2003 LGBTQ-related films 2003 comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language independent films English-language action comedy films English-language comedy short films LGBTQ-related independent films