Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Preamble
I remember seeing this trailer advertised on television. I remember thinking to myself - I need to go see that self! I like Minnie Driver. I think she is a fine actress. I like Sally Field and just about everything she's been involved with (acting and directing) has touched me.

So here, months later, I decided to rent this from the local Blockbuster.

Maybe it's because it's that time of the month - I don't deny certain hormonal certainties - or maybe it's because of the subject matter. I laughed, I cried, I thought. Any movie that can illicit that sort of response from me deserves many stars.

The Plot
Mona is a poor, white-trash girl who is obsessed with being Miss American Miss. To win is to be the most beautiful. To be the most beautiful is to have love. That's right, love. Her mother, an alcoholic, is unable to show the kind of love and approval that Mona needs. Her father - who knows where he is. Her stepfather is no reinforcement of a positive male role model.

As a teenager, Mona pays her own way by working odd jobs. She learns every thing that she possibly can (both logically and statistically) on what it takes to win the crown.

Along the way, she meets someone who becomes a very special friend. Ruby (Joey Lauren Adams) is shy but drawn to Mona's extrovert personality. Like a child who has found a lost puppy, Ruby takes Mona "in" and provides her with a pseudo-family experience.

On her way to her goal, she stumbles a bit, ending up pregnant. Turning to Ruby, she takes comfort in knowing that someone is there, looking out for her. Ruby takes over the role of mom to Mona's daughter Vanessa (Hallie Kate Eisenberg). Don't look too closely because real mother and daughter look like twins.

A twist of fate forces Mona and Vanessa to have to be together (at the Miss American Miss pageant) without Ruby. Between the pressure of owning up to motherhood and trying to win it all, Mona's coping mechanisms are tested to their limits.

Does all end well? Rent the dvd and find out.

Critical Commentary
A lot of reviews I read about this movie were scathing. They called Minnie Driver's character (and her acting) one-dimensional. Joey Lauren Adams character was likened to a door mat. I can't argue with these assessments. I can though tell you why being (mostly) one-dimensional and why being (mostly) a door mat was good for this movie.

Personal notation: You ever feel like you have so much to say but when you go to open your mouth (or start typing), you freeze? You want someone to read your thoughts because it's lots less painful than having to pull them out yourself and place them on display. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Minnie Driver's character, Mona - gosh I can identify with her. I have this theory. I could be wrong. When you're young and you're intuitive, you find ways early on to cope with the lack of love and affection in your family. Some people choose alcohol, some people choose drugs, some people choose food, and then some people choose what I call, mind-altering tricks.

This is what Mona did. In order to "pretend" that everything was fine in her family, she filled 100% of her time with one thing - beauty pageants. She worked to get enough money to enter the pageants. She sewed, performed, did everything in preparation of the pageants. See, this left her little time to think and deal with the current situation. When in doubt, pretending is a good coping mechanism.

As Mona grew older, she saw her redemption as a person tied into winning it all. In order to win it all over time, she had to create compartments to put people and things in. You do this because when you don't want to deal with that issue, you can just pretend the compartment doesn't exist. Focus is the key. Focus will get you the prize.

Part of the side effect of doing this is that outwardly, you appear cold and arrogant to others. You don't understand why they think that way because after all, you're just focusing.

As a mother, it's difficult to understand how any other woman who gives birth can not want to be with their child 24/7. Point of reference. If you didn't have a mother/father that felt that way about you, it's difficult to behave that way.

I remember there was a part in the movie where Mona asks, "Why are you being so nice to me?". Ouch! When you grow up in an environment like this you always wonder this - you wonder what price you'll have to pay later for being on the receiving end of their "kindness".

I probably could have summed up Minnie Driver's performance with just this statement - I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's the personalization and understanding of the character's inner demons that made me the fan. I want to say so much more but really, it'll just be more babbling.

Joey Lauren Adams turned in a performance that was unusual. For once, neither she nor her usual shrill voice was the center of attention. I happen to like the fact that her performance was even-keeled.

Hallie Kate Eisenberg, the little girl known round the world for her part in the Pepsi commercials usually annoys me. Her performance was stellar. For someone so young, she's extremely talented. She was able to pull off the playfulness and the innocense of a seven year old while at the same time, mature within the story line.

There were two contestants that stood out in the plot. First was Bridgette Wilson. You might remember her from the recent movie, The Wedding Planner. Her performance here was right on the mark. She played the blonde wench perfectly. I wanted to scratch her eyes out!

The other contestant, played by Kathleen Robertson (the chick from Beverly Hills 90210) was less than impressive. From her fake, tarty-southern accent, to her pathetic attempt at a sympathetic character - gosh, it just didn't work for me.

The ending was more fairy-tale like than most people wanted. Admittedly, that was the downfall of the movie. But you know what? I'm okay with that. Yes, the writers could have taken it to a darker side and maybe it would have reaped an oscar nomination. Maybe because I was so hormonal, the fairy-tale ending didn't make me as upset as so many others were.

Social Commentary
Most girls are fascinated by beauty pageants. Sure, as grown-ups, we all roll our eyes and speak with indignation in our voice as we talk of them. They are, after all, a gross exploitation of women.

Why then as women, are we still intrigued? Could it be that the little girl in us has never forgotten that feeling that we wanted for just one moment to be beautiful and to be at the center of everyone's attention?

Before you start pointing your finger though, at pageants for being responsible for the lack self-esteem in girls today, think again. Pageants are a symptom of the bigger problem. Same goes for eating disorders. Remove thy self from soap-box.

What's On The DVD
The Movie (of course)
Theatrical Trailer
Cast Bios
Choice of full-screen or wide-screen

So in other words - nothing too exciting.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older