Some films are simply rentals at best. Miss Congeniality is one of them. The story comes from the masterminds behind such hits as Forces of Nature and TV's Family Ties Vacation and Search for a Supermodel (Marc Lawrence for the first two, Katie Ford for the latter). It is directed by the one and only Donald Petrie, responsible for the 1999 stinker, My Favourite Martian (to his credit, he has directed a number of hits, including Grumpy Old Men). It features the look-at-me-I-am-so-cute antics of Sandra Bullock (also the producer) and the I'll-do-anything-for-a-paycheck skills of Benjamin Bratt. So what's not to like?
Bullock plays FBI agent Gracie Hart. She is a rough, crude, unrefined woman who could beat the snot out of any man if he looked at her funny. She always seems to be screwing things up, finally getting herself in trouble when she nearly gets an agent killed during an operation. Despite the heat from her supervisor (played by Ernie Hudson), she is elected as part of a special team headed by Eric Matthews (Bratt) to capture an elusive criminal known as "The Citizen". Apparently, this deranged killer is going to strike again. This time, the Miss United States Pageant is the target.
The only catch to Gracie being selected as part of the team is that she has to be in the pageant, as a contestant. After receiving clearance from the people running the pageant (played by Candice Bergen and William Shatner), the newly appointed Miss New Jersey has two days to be whipped in to pageantry shape. To pull off this nearly impossible feat, Bergen brings in a former expert to assist Gracie. Academy Award-winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) plays Victor Melling, a trainer who once won 10 out of 11 years with the woman he trained. Now washed-up, Vic is reluctant to take on the challenge. Since he has nothing else to do and unable to resist the chance to again compete, he accepts.
From here, Sandra gets beautiful, she bonds with the other girls, and she searches for the killer. All of the girls just want to have fun hi-jinx became a bit too much as time went on. The movie does contain some funny scenes, but the laughing to eye-rolling/sighing ratio is significant enough to damper the experience of this film. As stated before, this one is a rental at best.
Bullock plays FBI agent Gracie Hart. She is a rough, crude, unrefined woman who could beat the snot out of any man if he looked at her funny. She always seems to be screwing things up, finally getting herself in trouble when she nearly gets an agent killed during an operation. Despite the heat from her supervisor (played by Ernie Hudson), she is elected as part of a special team headed by Eric Matthews (Bratt) to capture an elusive criminal known as "The Citizen". Apparently, this deranged killer is going to strike again. This time, the Miss United States Pageant is the target.
The only catch to Gracie being selected as part of the team is that she has to be in the pageant, as a contestant. After receiving clearance from the people running the pageant (played by Candice Bergen and William Shatner), the newly appointed Miss New Jersey has two days to be whipped in to pageantry shape. To pull off this nearly impossible feat, Bergen brings in a former expert to assist Gracie. Academy Award-winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) plays Victor Melling, a trainer who once won 10 out of 11 years with the woman he trained. Now washed-up, Vic is reluctant to take on the challenge. Since he has nothing else to do and unable to resist the chance to again compete, he accepts.
From here, Sandra gets beautiful, she bonds with the other girls, and she searches for the killer. All of the girls just want to have fun hi-jinx became a bit too much as time went on. The movie does contain some funny scenes, but the laughing to eye-rolling/sighing ratio is significant enough to damper the experience of this film. As stated before, this one is a rental at best.