CROSSING THE BIKINI LINE? CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE' GETS EVEN RACIER IN ATTEMPT TO JUMP-START ITS MALE AUDIENCE.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer

Never mind the lap-dancing scene or the dueling bikini contest between Cameron Diaz and Demi Moore or the umpteen close-up shots of Ms. Diaz's behind or the time when the girls fall out of a bas-relief nude or when they soap each other up in a car wash in a manner that would make the chain gang in ``Cool Hand Luke'' blush. Nobody had a problem with any of that stuff.

There was some debate, however, over the scene where Moore licks Diaz's face up, down and all around. That, um, set tongues wagging.

Because you can put Charlie's Angels in outfits no bigger than a postage stamp, you can have them peel those same clothes off, you can have them do any other lusty, busty thing in the name of female empowerment (and that's the given motivation for everything in the Angels' universe, no matter how exploitative it seems), but the minute there's some licking, all bets are off.

``The licking of Cameron's face is a question for (director) McG because to me it's not inherent in the story,'' says Nancy Juvonen, one of the movie's producers. ``It's not an important character thing that needs to happen. So I can't defend that.''

As Juvonen is talking, Leonard Goldberg listens, shaking his head. Goldberg, with partner Aaron Spelling, helped usher in the era of ``jiggle television'' with shows like ``Charlie's Angels'' and ``Fantasy Island.'' But he didn't much like the licking, either.

``We argued about that,'' producer Goldberg says, teeth clenched. ``McG thought it was very important to the character, but if I had a little daughter, I wouldn't want her to see that.''

From chick flick to ...

It's because of those little daughters that we dwell a bit on this subject because the first ``Charlie's Angels'' movie, released 2 1/2 years ago, raked in most of its $125 million domestic gross from women, quite often mothers taking their (little) daughters to the multiplex.

With the sequel, ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle,'' McG had his marching orders from Sony. Do whatever it takes to bring in more men. The ever-ebullient McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol) was happy to oblige, and he stuffed ``Full Throttle'' to the bursting point with car chases, extreme sports action sequences, plenty of skin and, yes, the aforementioned licking.

Young males will probably be pleased with the result. But in courting adolescent boys - a demographic, co-star and producer Drew Barrymore admits, more interested in titillation than celebrating girl power - have the filmmakers gone too far and alienated the movie's primary audience? Time will tell.

``We made a concerted effort to make it more attractive to a general audience and not have it be so specific to just young girls,'' McG admits. ``But we certainly didn't want it to violate young girls. I just wanted to show a little more grit, and I wanted to respect a more mature audience. I hope we didn't go too far. It would be a big mistake if we did.''

Ask the returning Angels - Diaz, Barrymore and Lucy Liu - whether ``Full Throttle'' comes too close to full frontal, and you get an amazingly consistent company line that emphasizes sisterhood and tap-dances around the question at hand.

Diaz: ``The great thing about 'Charlie's Angels' is that you have these women who are totally capable, free, open and sexy. We wanted to make sure we portrayed women who have everything. They allow themselves to be as much of a woman as they are. They don't hide any of it.''

Liu: ``The movie touches upon the idea that women can be feminine and also capable and strong. I think that balance is clear.''

Barrymore: ``They have an opportunity to go out there and save the day, show their capabilities, be heroic, create a family and work together with other women in a bonded, beautiful, family, girlfriend, sisterly sort of fashion.''

Producer Juvonen: ``The message is about the teamsmanship and friendship. And the other side of our 'Charlie's Angels' coin is about hair and makeup and wardrobe. And on that side of the coin, I think a lot of us feel like you can work as hard as you want to work and you don't have to apologize for your sexuality. It was important to let them embrace their sexuality and not run from it or pretend they don't have it in order to be strong women.''

Critical thinking

Which brings us back to the lap dancing, soaping and McG's camera following Diaz's butt. Is it empowerment or exploitation? Since the Angels won't answer, we'll ask movie columnist David Poland for help.

``It goes back to the classic strip-bar question,'' Poland says. ``Who is being exploited? The woman who is stripping naked for more money than she can earn in the straight world or the guy who is paying lots of money to see the woman naked?

``Obviously, it is exploitation,'' Poland continues. ``But the self-exploitation of 'Charlie's Angels' is better, in most ways, than what Hollywood does to women most of the time. But does the self-exploitation promote ideals of equality? Not in the first one. The womanly wiles were used to get men to perform based on sexual promise, sometimes real and sometimes false. Is the message of 'empowerment' that women can be as manipulative and self-serving as men?''

Film writer Jeffrey Wells is more blunt.

``If this is a forward-looking film that celebrates the genuine empowerment of women, then I have a little pink corkscrew tail sticking out of my jeans and my first name is Porky,'' Wells says.

Deep down, the actresses seem to realize this, too. In the middle of one of her discourses on empowerment and enlightenment, Liu trails off and says, ``You know, there's also the idea of eye candy. And who doesn't want to see that and be a part of that?''

Certainly McG does. The man is, after all, dating the choreographer of the Pussycat Dolls, the L.A. burlesque review. But even McG seems to recognize the need for limits.

``You should have seen what I shot,'' McG says. ``I mean, it was a lot more risque, and we pulled it way back.''

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Smokin' `Angels'

Charlie's girls turn up the sensual heat in `Full Throttle'

(2) ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle,'' which introduces Demi Moore as a fallen Angel, is upping the amount of skin showing and adding more action n an attempt to attract more men to the theaters.

(3) Good clean fun? In interviews, the stars of ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' emphasize the female empowerment of their detective characters.

(4) Cameron Diaz