MISS CONGENIALITY
SYNOPSIS:
When the infamous, self-styled bomber and arsonist, ‘Citizen’, targets the
upcoming Miss United States Pageant, the FBI plants one of its own agents, the unlikely
Special Agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock), as a contestant working under cover;
she’s the only one at hand who could conceivably pull it off in a swimsuit –
with a lot of help from long time pageant consultant Victor Melling (Michael Caine) whose
job is to transform an accident prone, gum chewing, pageant-despising tough nut into a
world peace loving beauty queen. And her job is to not only pass muster on live
television, but to help apprehend the crazed bomber who threatens the lives of the
contestants.
"Don’t mess with this FBI agent – Sandra Bullock’s Gracie is
more interested in action than fluttering her eyelashes. You could say (with a smile) that
she introduces a new low in feminism. But she does it with such style and Bullock rivals
Julia Roberts for any Hollywood comedy role. Uplifting, funny and very entertaining, Miss
Congeniality is a good natured romp with a superb cast and plenty of pizzaz. Starting with
a surprisingly good script, the laughs are genuine and plentiful. While the premise may
not be original, the performances are charismatic and the delivery so darn enjoyable, that
it's a blast from start to finish. In fact, there's much more to Miss Congeniality than
initially meets the eye. This is a film that truly knows where it's going; it's well
directed with great production design and the soundtrack will put your toes into automatic
tapping mode. It's a rollicking ride and at the end there's a great payoff, showing lots
of heart. Sandra Bullock is simply irresistible, displaying great comedic flair with
impeccable timing. It's a terrific, energetic performance and the conversion of her ugly
duckling FBI agent with brains to discover her brawn is a treat. She easily glides from
tomboy Gracie’s sarcasm with a gun to a believable swan whose vulnerability is on
show. Michael Caine is divine as the gay makeover man; wait till you see him flash his
lipsticks, while emulating the FBI agent flashing his badge. Benjamin Bratt works well
with Bullock, while Candice Bergen and William Shatner (Beauty Pageant MC Bert Newton
style) are perfectly cast. There's plenty of schtick and it’s milked for all it's
worth. Hidden cameras that peek into the behind-the-scenes of the beauty pageant world
bring chuckles galore, and as for the title? You’ll have to see the film to find out
the irony and relevance. A fun, feel-good comedy that gives the endorphins a good work
out, Miss Congeniality is a delight."
Louise Keller
"In a clever piece of writing and equally deft directing, Miss Congeniality
manages to butter both sides of its issue bread while firing on six comedic cylinders.
While taking pot shots at beauty pageants, the film reserves enough affection for the
process to turn around and pay tribute to the pageants’ values and benefits. In other
words it gets us to laugh along with it long enough to earn our trust, and then gently
re-aligns our sensibilities to be more open minded about the subject. But this is not the
film’s main ambition: it is a comedy, but all good comedies rely on having something
to say. Bullock plays a daffy, latter day Doris Day character here, full steam ahead with
physical comedy without losing her feminine side. She can still be the leading lady while
tripping on her high heels. Bullock does it very well. Surrounded by some other class
act(or)s, she energises the film with her characteristic ability to swing quickly from
abject frump to absolute stunner in the time it takes to load a clapper board. The
dramatic content is sidelined for most of the film, although never forgotten, and the
essential story retains its edge due to the solidity of key cast, including the highly
impressive Benjamin Bratt as fellow FBI agent Eric Matthews. The comedy is beautifully
timed and much of it is cackle-out-loud stuff, with a smattering of smiles, grins and even
a couple of ho-ho-hos. Frankly, it’s a lot better than I expected, and a tribute to
Bullock as producer."
Andrew L. Urban
"I’ve been told by several women that, as a man, I just don’t
"get" Miss Congeniality. Without having to personally endure hours of torture in
the name of beauty and still come up smiling, I couldn’t possibly imagine the horror
– and thus the humour in this film. That’s probably true; but from a male
perspective Miss Congeniality is a fairly bland experience, although enlivened by some
good acting. Its main problem is that the scriptwriter decided – unbelievably –
to give away the whole plot halfway through. The result is that latter stages of the film
become laborious and pointless. But the experience is lifted by two solid performances
from Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine. Bullock shows great comic touch as the rather gross
Gracie, and this film hopefully signals that her days in dire dramas like Hope Floats are
behind her. She manages to be equally convincing as both a slob and a beauty queen –
quite an achievement. Caine is Henry Higgins to Bullock’s Eliza Doolittle, and pulls
off the preening pageant coach with considerable flair. Benjamin Bratt, William Shatner
and Candice Bergen however add little to the mix, their roles never rising above the
pedestrian. Miss Congeniality features some very funny moments, but they’re mired in
a story that lays schmaltz on improbability, and never manages to be truly compelling. It
also takes a very confusing view of beauty pageants themselves; seemingly unable to make
up its mind whether it’s a parody of, or homage to, them. Although it has major
problems, Miss Congeniality is congenial enough, made bearable by the talents of Bullock
and Caine."
David Edwards
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HEAR Andrew L. Urban & Louise Keller talk about the film in Real Audio.

CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 2
Unfavourable: 0
Mixed: 1
See our INTERVIEW with Sandra Bullock
TRAILER




MISS CONGENIALITY (M)
(US)
CAST: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, William Shatner, Candice Bergen
DIRECTOR: Donald Petrie
PRODUCER: Sandra Bullock
SCRIPT: Marc Lawrence, Katie Ford and Caryn Lucas (story), Marc Lawrence (screenplay)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: László Kovács
EDITOR: Billy Weber
MUSIC: Ed Shearmur
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Peter S. Larkin
RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2001
VIDEO DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Home Ent
VIDEO RELEASE: August 29, 2001
See our SOUNDTRACK REVIEW

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