The cast of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle—Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, and Demi Moore—recently celebrated Moore’s Oscar nomination for her role in The Substance. Nearly two decades before this body horror movie, Barrymore, Diaz, and Liu appeared in the 2000 action-comedy Charlie’s Angels before reuniting as the crime-fighting detectives once more in Full Throttle, where Moore encounters the iconic trio as a former Angel turned villainous mastermind. The film marked Moore’s return to acting after a four-year hiatus, allowing her to embrace a new role while building a bond with her co-stars that has endured for over two decades.
As reported by Vanity Fair, Barrymore, Diaz, and Liu joined Moore via Zoom to reflect on her transformative performance as Elisabeth Sparkle in Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. Moore’s portrayal of an aging starlet who takes a black market drug to create a younger and brighter version of herself (Margaret Qualley) has earned her widespread acclaim, marking a career milestone with the actor’s first Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe win. Check out what some of the Angels had to say below:
Lucy Liu: There’s so much vulnerability in the strength that you are able to put on camera. That moment of you taking the makeup off, to reveal the psychological toll of this kind of unattainable pressure from society of what beauty is and what aging is or what is commercial, what is so shin. It was done in a way where you really captured that rawness: that feeling of being insecure but also comfortable with yourself, but then realizing that other people aren’t comfortable with yourself. Drew Barrymore: I was like, “This badass has walked away at the height of success and taken time for herself.” It gave me something delicious that I’ve wished for—for every human being, let alone woman—which is that I can live without your acceptance. Seeing your performance in this, it could go so much further for me because I knew that you had your own personal wherewithal to not ask for the outside world’s approval throughout your entire life. Cameron Diaz: All women, we are conditioned to be objectified—period. Whether we are movie stars [or not], it’s just every woman. Obviously, it’s more extreme in our circumstances, because we’re projected onto a screen and literally objectified. We’ve had dolls made out of us. It’s just so innate. It’s so ingrained in us. We bow down to that. We serve that objectification. We try to meet its request in so many ways… In watching you give this performance, you don’t have to ask anybody’s permission. It’s as if there was a constitution written in the film industry that laid out what the film industry was, and everybody has been abiding by it for the last however many decades. Y’all went in and just shredded it to pieces and said, I do not agree with this constitution. We are rewriting this. And not only that, but we’re going to in the most audacious, violent, crazy way that you could possibly do it.
What Charlie’s Angels Reunion With Demi Moore Means
Redefining Fame And Womanhood In Hollywood
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Moore’s nomination for The Substance signals a powerful shift in Hollywood’s portrayal of women, particularly those navigating middle age. Her character, Elisabeth Sparkle, a once-revered movie star, faces a superficial and youth-obsessed industry “in the most audacious, violent, crazy way.” The substance which Elisabeth takes to create the more perfect version of herself, Sue, unleashes grotesque consequences that call into question the industry’s absurd standards for women and the destructive curse of fame.
Related 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle As the new Charlie’s Angels movie fast approaches we take a look back at the hidden details of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.
Moore’s Oscar-nominated role followed a deliberate withdrawal from acting during her 40s, a time when industry roles for women historically wane. In 1996, she had a particularly divisive period between the critical flack from Striptease and The Juror, and her acclaimed role in HBO’s If These Walls Could Talk. After G.I. Jane, the actor decided to focus on her family. Back on the big screen, Moore brings a powerful rawness to The Substance, and this moment of recognition represents a victory not just for Moore but for all the women creatives who have pushed back against the industry’s biases.
Our Take On The Charlie’s Angels Reunion With Moore
A Heartfelt Reflection On Success And Solidarity
The Charlie’s Angels reunion is more than just a nostalgic trip. Demi Moore’s recognition for The Substance marks a triumphant return to Hollywood after years of navigating its gendered land mine. Barrymore, Diaz, and Liu’s admiration for her return is a heartfelt instance of successful women supporting one another in a competitive industry. Their enduring camaraderie, alongside Moore’s recent acclaim, show how unity and authenticity can give us the courage to challenge societal norms and ultimately redefine what it means to thrive in Hollywood.
Source: Vanity Fair