Charlie’s Gayngels

Look, no one is calling “Charlie’s Angels” high art. But then this franchise has always leaned into its ridiculous mix of women power meets tight outfits meets hot ladies kicking bad guy butts entertainment. And while the latest reboot flopped pretty hard at the box office, it is still deserves recognition as a big-budget, mainstream film that allows one of its female leads to be visibly gay on screen. And, no, I’m not just talking about K-Stew’s hair.

Kristen Stewart’s Angel Sabina is more than just an alternative lifestyle haircut in a variety of campy costumes. She is the first confirmed queer Angel, or Gayngel, straight from the mouth of the movie’s director/co-writer/co-star Elizabeth Banks. As in she said, “Kristen’s character is definitely gay in the movie.”

Now, lest you are thinking this is some sort of “Dumbledore Is Gay”-redux confirmed, where she’s labeled as gay off-screen but you see no trace of it on screen – fear not. If you saw the movie over the weekend like I did (because, again, I have a soft spot for the ridiculous mix of women power meets tight outfits meets hot ladies kicking bad guy butts) you caught a brief, but definitive scene of Sabina letting her Gayngel Flag fly proudly. In it, while swiping some mark’s keycard at a health club, she pauses to give a big gay “Hey, girl” to one of the female members passing by.

Blink twice and you’d miss it. But it was main text, not subtext. And that’s something.

So, anyone else make it to the multiplex to root for our new Gayngel? And, raise your hand if you think K-Stew should do more campy, comedy stuff. Because, girl, it looks good on you.



p.s. While it might not be the highest praise for the movie, the star-studded mid-credit scene cameos were 100 percent worth the price of admission.