When it comes to Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle or movies of that ilk, we adhere to a philosophy that goes something like this -- when you go to Burger King, don't order the lobster.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is the full whopper of silliness on the big screen, a spoof of a spoof of a spoof that is pretty well plotless, not to mention gormless and feckless.

And who cares? Like the first Charlie's Angels, the sequel is carried by pretty pictures, special effects and daffy behaviour, and -- this time around -- by audience anticipation.

Part of the pleasure of looking at Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is the chipper energy in every screening room it plays.

Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu return as a trio of crime fighters with extraordinary skills and superior fashion sense. (If we have to stop here and explain that the film is based on an old TV program, you'd best consider going to see something else at the movies.)

The action begins in a rough and tough Siberian outpost and involves the Witness Protection Program, daredevil helicopter stuff, a bridge explosion, fancy flying, surfing stunts, an eye-popping motorcycle race, insane wire work, Carrie Fisher in a nun's habit, and meaningless-but-funny cameos from John Cleese, Crispin Glover, Matt LeBlanc, Luke Wilson, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Bruce Willis, among others. Bernie Mac plays Bosley, a role that allows him to say, "It's raining white chicks!"

Men may love the bum shots and the skimpy outfits, but Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a chick flick of the highest order, and not just for reasons of sisterhood. The appeal of the movie is summarized in a sequence that goes like this: (1) Rude male stranger gives Barrymore's bum an appreciative slap; (2) Rude male stranger is seen flying across the bar and smashing head-first into a jukebox.

It's a female we-don't-stop-for-nobody attitude, and we like it. The only non-starter in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is Demi Moore, although her participation has been so hyped that disappointment is almost a given. As the only member of the cast who seems to be taking herself seriously, Moore is also the victim of extreme closeups that suggest she is both undernourished and overlifted; it's a bad combo.

Other than that, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle manages to toss in all the same nonsense that worked in the first film, including the Cameron Diaz gratuitous dance scene, one of our personal faves. You'll get popcorn. You'll laugh out loud.

There are worse things.

(This film is rated PG)

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