I remember actually liking the first Charlie’s Angels movie. I don’t remember much about it except that it was damn funny as well as fun. I thought that the sequel, even if it were merely half as good, would be at least a good way to spend a Friday.

Sadly, I was wrong.

This movie is like Bob Saget: big, largely unfunny, trying way too hard for any laughs. Sure, there were moments of brilliance in the movie. Mostly, the humor and plot felt riduculously forced and altogether awkward. When it was over, I felt that money had been ruthlessly extracted from my wallet by Lucy Liu and company.

Doubly-insulting is the amount of gratuitious product placement, which never fails to make me cringe, even when it features a product I like (like, say, all those Powerbooks in Independence Day. Cingular must have paid a mint to be featured in this crapfest (the Angels use a one of their 3G phones to take pictures and send it back to Bosley).

Lastly, speaking of advertising: does anyone else feel annoyed at the three or four 1+ minute long ads that are now inserted in front of the previews for new movies? I mean, you arrive early, watch a slideshow (with ads), watch more actual ads (and long ones, too), then watch the previews (which are fun, but are ultimately ads as well), and then suffer through a movie with more ads embedded in the film. Feh.