Miss Congeniality [M]

FBI Special Agent Gracie Hart is a man’s woman. She chews with her mouth open, snorts when she laughs, has a mean right hook, and is having a “bad hair decade”. So when the FBI need an agent to go undercover at the Miss United States Pageant to smoke out a murderer, Agent Hart isn’t their first choice… she’s their only choice. With the help of bitter and sarcastic pageant guru, Victor Melling, Gracie is transformed from grot to glamour, but can she keep her eyes on the prize as well as catch the bad guy? 

Possibly one of the most original and heart warming transformation stories in cinema history, Miss Congeniality is armed with everything from action to romance to lip gloss. It’s one of my all time comedy classics. 

FBI Special Agent Gracie Hart is a man’s woman. She chews with her mouth open, snorts when she laughs, has a mean right hook, and is having a “bad hair decade”. So when the FBI need an agent to go undercover at the Miss United States Pageant to smoke out a murderer, Agent Hart isn’t their first choice… she’s their only choice. With the help of bitter and cynical pageant guru, Victor Melling, Gracie is transformed from grot to glamour, but can she keep her eyes on the prize as well as protect the girls? 

It only just occurred to me that this film was really clever in that Candice Bergen, who is known for being pro-women and a bit of a feminist, is cast in a role that is a complete contradiction to her real character. Cathy Morningside, curator of the Miss United States Pageant is as far away from a feminist as you could get, to a certain degree, and Candice gave a wonderfully glamorous as well as charming and funny performance. 

The story itself is a gem. From the start, the basic idea works brilliantly and it lends itself to all sorts of different comedic perspectives. Any way you look at this film, whether it be from a feminist point of view or airheaded romantic point of view, any way you look at it, Miss Congeniality is charming, clever, funny, and wonderfully heart warming. It’s a real jewel. 

Sandra Bullock stars as Agent Gracie Hart and she was absolutely brilliant! Beginning the film with frizzed hair and a mean right hook, the transformation that takes place is just amazing. She was glamorous, aggressive, and wonderfully sarcastic and cynical, adding much of the comic relief to the film. 

The only person who topped Sandra’s razor sharp wit was Michael Caine who played pageant guru, Victor Melling. He was the best thing in this film! He was grumpy, sarcastic, and his timing is positively lethal. He was a complete delight from start to finish and had all the best lines: “I haven’t seen a walk like that since Jurassic Park.” Classic! 

Starring Heather Burns, Benjamin Bratt, Ernie Hudson, and William Shatner, Miss Congeniality is a wonderful film loaded with action, romance, glamour, frocks, sparkles, epic transformations, and memorable quotes. It’s a film that I can always come back to and enjoy time and time again.