it is movies like these that make a jaded movie viewer thankful for the invention of the timex indiglo watch . based on the late 1960's television show by the same name , the mod squad tells the tale of three reformed criminals under the employ of the police to go undercover . however , things go wrong as evidence gets stolen and they are immediately under suspicion . of course , the ads make it seem like so much more . quick cuts , cool music , claire dane's nice hair and cute outfits , car chases , stuff blowing up , and the like . sounds like a cool movie , does it not ? after the first fifteen minutes , <NEG> it quickly becomes apparent that it is not </NEG> . the mod squad is certainly a slick looking production , complete with nice hair and costumes , but <NEG> that simply isn't enough </NEG> . the film is best described as a cross between an hour-long cop show and a music video , both stretched out into the span of an hour and a half . and <NEG> with it comes every single clich ? </NEG> . it doesn't really matter that the film is based on a television show , as most of the plot elements have been recycled from everything we've already seen . <NEG> the characters and acting is nothing spectacular </NEG> , sometimes even <NEG> bordering on wooden </NEG> . claire danes and omar epps deliver their lines <NEG> as if they are bored </NEG> , which really transfers onto the audience . the only one to escape relatively unscathed is giovanni ribisi , who plays the resident crazy man , ultimately being the only thing worth watching . unfortunately , <NEG> even he's not enough to save this convoluted mess </NEG> , as <NEG> all the characters don't do much apart from occupying screen time </NEG> . with the young cast , cool clothes , nice hair , and hip soundtrack , it appears that the film is geared towards the teenage mindset . despite an american 'r' rating ( which the content does not justify ) , <NEG> the film is way too juvenile </NEG> for the older mindset . information on the characters is literally spoon-fed to the audience ( would it be that hard to show us instead of telling us ? ) , <NEG> dialogue is poorly written </NEG> , and <NEG> the plot is extremely predictable </NEG> . the way the film progresses , you likely won't even care if the heroes are in any jeopardy , because you'll know they aren't . basing the show on a 1960's television show that nobody remembers is of questionable wisdom , especially when one considers the target audience and the fact that the number of memorable films based on television shows can be counted on one hand ( even one that's missing a finger or two ) . the number of times that i checked my watch ( six ) is a clear indication that this film is not one of them . it is clear that the film is <NEG> nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the teenage spending dollar </NEG> , judging from the rash of really awful teen-flicks that we've been seeing as of late . <NEG> avoid this film at all costs </NEG> .
