Every year there are several beauty pageants from small local ones to the large national ones that are televised. There are people that watch every pageant they can, and there are other people that can’t stand and wouldn’t watch one for anything. Some people even look down on the women that enter the pageants, thinking they aren’t too bright to be involved in something like that. Some movies have featured contestants in pageants or focused in on an actual pageant. Miss Congeniality is a movie set during a fictional pageant.

Gracie Hart was a very dedicated FBI agent. She didn’t concern herself with her appearance and really had no life outside of work. Her clothes were usually rumpled and frequently had food stains on them. Her hair looked like she hadn’t combed it in months. Several of the agents she worked with tended to make cracks about her appearance and about her being more like a man than a woman. Eric Matthews really seemed to enjoy goading her. Harry McDonald, the assistant director, pulled Gracie out of the field after she messed up on an operation. Right after the botched operation, the agency received a new letter from the Citizen, someone that the agency had been investigating for a long time. Gracie believed she should be working on that case. Harry didn’t agree. He put Eric in charge of the investigation into the new letter. They wanted to try to figure out the target before the Citizen struck again. Gracie figured out the target on her own at the same time the agents working on cracking the letter did. The Citizen was aiming at The Miss United States pageant.

It was decided that they needed to have an agent go undercover in the pageant as a contestant. Eric had someone in mind, but that didn’t work out. He ended up convincing Gracie to do it. She wasn’t happy about having to be in a pageant and she had some very specific ideas about the type of women that entered them. Gracie went with Eric to meet Kathy Morningside and Stan Fields to discuss the situation. Stan and Kathy hosted the pageant. Kathy was a former winner and very protective of the pageant. Kathy didn’t want Gracie pretending to be a contestant, but she did arrange for Gracie to work with Victor Melling, a pageant consultant. Victor didn’t think he could do it at first, but he did manage to transform Gracie. She looked like a contestant, though she was having trouble walking in heels and learning the dance numbers. Eric set up her identity as Gracie Lou Freebush and was calling the job Operation Thong to annoy Gracie. Victor continued to work with her after arriving at the site of the pageant, and she was getting almost no sleep. Gracie did bond with a few of the other contestants, mostly Cheryl, Miss Rhode Island. There were some new developments in the case that caused Gracie to clash with Eric and Harry. Gracie stayed behind on her own because she was convinced something was going to happen and she wanted to protect her new friends.

Gracie went through a complete transformation during the movie. At the beginning, she was sloppy, had no personal life, and didn’t take care of her appearance in any way. She tried to act like one of the guys. By the end of the movie, she looked much better, but she still has a few of her original quirks, like snorting when she laughed. Miss Congeniality wasn’t the first movie that Sandra Bullock played a character that went through a transformation. She played a woman that went through a big change for a different reason in one of her first movies, Love Potion No. 9. The fact that both characters had changes in their appearances was the only similarity to the movies. The movie wasn’t the most original, but I did think it was very entertaining. There have been several movies that had an ugly duckling type of character turn into a swan for various reasons. I do think Gracie’s change was handled well. There were a few things that happened that were predictable. There were also things that happened that I didn’t expect.

I think I first saw Sandra Bullock in Demolition Man, which lead to her breakout role in Speed. Those movies were full of action, though her characters did add some humor to the movies. Since then she has been in several movies. She has been in a mix of more serious roles and comedic roles like the one she played in Miss Congeniality. I thought that the movie was very funny. It is one of my favorite comedies. Many of the laughs came from things connected to Gracie trying to fit in at the pageant. She was far out of her element, which lead to her doing something that made me laugh. Gracie gave a demonstration of some self-defense moves in one very funny scene. There were some silly things done for laughs a few times, but I didn’t think that the movie was silly overall. Bullock did some physical comedy that did involve her falling down more than once. That worked for the character because Gracie was a little bit clumsy. There were a few fights and some action in the movie as well. Gracie was talented with some kind of martial arts, and she did demonstrate her abilities in a few scenes. I didn’t think that the movie was violent even though there was a little bit of violence in a scene or two.

It wasn’t said how long Gracie had worked for the FBI. It did seem like she had been an agent for a while. She had an established working relationship with some other agents. It was known among some of the agents that Gracie didn’t always follow orders. She and Eric were always making comments to each other about something. Eric did act like a bit of a ladies man. After Gracie got the make over, he then started to notice her as a woman. There was sexual tension between the two of them. There were no sex scenes in the movie. Gracie and some of the other contestants were shown in various stages of dress when they were preparing and changing outfits. The pageant did include a swimsuit competition, so several women were shown in bathing suits. Some were wearing one piece suits and the others had bikinis on. At one point, Eric went swimming, so he also got the chance to show off a bathing suit. During the make over process, Gracie had her legs waxed. Her bare legs were shown just long enough to show that she was getting them waxed. She was supposed to have gotten a bikini wax as well. That wasn’t shown, though it was heard. There was no actual nudity in the movie.

The acting in Miss Congeniality was really good. I loved Sandra Bullock in this movie. She was very funny and really fit the part of Gracie. She made Gracie come to life and was believable in the part. I think this was one of her best parts. I loved Michael Caine as Victor. He provided many funny moments in the movie as well. Victor was a bit of a flamboyant character, and he could have ended up looking just silly if the part had been handled wrong, but Caine was perfect. He is very versatile and is wonderful in both serious and comedic parts. Benjamin Bratt was fine as Eric, though there was nothing really special about his performance. Ernie Hudson was good as Harry, though he didn’t have that much to do. He did have one of the smaller parts. Candice Bergen was fine as Kathy. The character had a few issues, and Bergen did bring them out. I’ve never considered myself a fan of William Shatner before. I don’t hate him or anything, but I’m not a fan. I did really like him in this movie though. He was so funny as Stan, and very believable in the part. Stan was rather clueless most of the time, but he was a likeable character. Shatner played the part perfectly. Heather Burns did well with the part of Cheryl, Miss Rhode Island.

CHARACTERS

Gracie Hart - She was a dedicated FBI agent that had no life outside of work. Her personal life and appearance was a disaster. She was a good agent, but she did have trouble following orders at times. She could be stubborn and argumentative. She had some definite ideas about women that entered pageants, but she did agree to go under cover as a contestant. She didn’t like wearing dresses and heels, but she made it work. She did things to make the other women laugh. Gracie was determined to keep her new friends safe. She didn’t have a problem with bending rules to get something done.

Eric Matthews - He was a by the book FBI agent. He was dedicated to his job as well, but he did have a life away from work. He dated a lot. Eric was always making cracks about Gracie. He started to change his opinion of her once her appearance changed.

Harry McDonald - He was the assistant director and Gracie’s boss. He pulled her out of the field after she messed up during an operation. He got upset with her more than once.

Victor Melling - He had been a very successful pageant consultant for several years. He had worked with young women that entered the Miss United States pageant. The women he worked with usually won. Something went wrong one year, and he hadn’t been hired since. Victor worked very hard to transform Gracie. He could be a slave driver when he was focused on working.

Cheryl Frasier - Miss Rhode Island. She was a sweet young woman that did have a secret or two she eventually shared with Gracie.

Stan Fields - One of the hosts of the Miss United States pageant. He was a bit clueless at times.

Kathy Morningside - The other host of the Miss United States pageant. Kathy was a former Miss United States and she was very protective of the pageant. She thought of it as hers. She was very controlling.

CAST

Candice Bergen - Kathy Morningside
Benjamin Bratt - Eric Matthews
Sandra Bullock - Gracie Hart
Heather Burns - Cheryl Frasier/Miss Rhode Island
Michael Caine - Victor Melling
Ernie Hudson - Harry McDonald
William Shatner - Stan Fields

Donald Petrie - Director

Miss Congeniality was released in December of 2000. The movie was 109 minutes long and rated PG-13. There was some swearing in the movie, but nothing excessive. The word that rhymes with luck was never used. The movie is available on DVD and VHS. It does turn up on television every so often, though it is edited. One extremely funny part showing an alternative use for hair spray is cut out when the movie is on television.

DVD FEATURES

I do own the DVD of Miss Congeniality. It was actually one of the first movies I got on DVD after I finally got a DVD player. The movie is in the widescreen format. The video and sound quality was very good. There weren’t many extras on the DVD. There were two short documentaries that showed how some aspects of the movie were created. A few members of the cast and crew were shown talking about the movie. Some bloopers and deleted scenes were added to each documentary. The director explained why he decided to cut the deleted scenes that were shared. There are two commentaries, one with Sandra Bullock and one of the screenwriters, and the second commentary featured the director. The theatrical trailer for the movie is also included on the DVD. A version of the DVD will be released on March 18 to tie in with the release of the sequel on March 24. I don’t know if there will be anything new added to that version of the DVD.

I really enjoy Miss Congeniality. I have watched the movie several times since I first saw and I still enjoy it every time I watch it. It is a very funny, entertaining movie. Women would probably enjoy it more than men. People in the mood for a funny movie should give it a chance. Fans of Sandra Bullock will probably enjoy it. People in the mood for a serious movie should look elsewhere.

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Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12