Like most gay people who went to high school in the early 2000s, I lived for the lesbian romance of But I’m a cheerleader and combed through other female-led films, such as Charlie’s Angels And Josie and the Pussycats for strange subtext. And yet somehow I completely missed the lesbian spy comedy DEBSwritten and directed by Angela Robinson (The L word, Real blood).
Please don’t take away my gay card if you’re reading this and you grew up watching it DEBS again and again. I missed it, okay?? Have pity on me, but don’t judge me. And for the rest of you who have never managed to see Jordana Brewster’s hilarious performance as lesbian supervillain Lucy Diamond, buckle up and get ready to hear about your future favorite movie.
The film’s premise is based on a delightful urban legend from the 2000s, where standardized tests in America include secret screening questions for teenagers who would be suitable for a career in espionage. In the world of DEBS, that urban legend is reality, and no one has ever tested higher on the benchmarks than our heroine Amy (Sara Foster). For whatever reason, Amy really seems to have a tendency to pretend to be someone she’s not. Turns out that’s because she’s even so far in the closet she doesn’t know she’s a lesbian. Lying to yourself is the most advanced form of lying you can do!
Just like the heroine of But I’m a cheerleader, Amy has a pushy boyfriend and a strange fascination with a naughty brunette (the aforementioned Lucy Diamond), but it’s all set in a slapstick spy world reminiscent of the Charlie’s Angels films (albeit on a lower budget – it’s indie queer cinema, so of course we forgive). Jimmi Simpson (Westworld) is also in DEBSin which he plays Lucy Diamond’s cohort, a total weirdo reminiscent of what Alan Cumming did in Josie and the Pussycats. It all feels like a movie that my teenager, a queer kid who loved comedies, should have seen a billion times.
As an adult, I need to make up for lost time, and maybe you do too. Unfortunately it’s not being streamed anywhere, but don’t let that stop you. me now own DEBS on DVDbut you can also rent it Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, AppleTVor Vudu.