"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Movie Review: Miss Congeniality (2000)

Aloha, everyone!
(Sorry, I had to say that because it is a reference in this movie).

Time for another movie review! Today I'll be reviewing a very quotable and funny spy movie that you're sure to get a kick out of. Enjoy!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!


Miss Congeniality (2000):
Based on: I read that it is based on a true story of someone who went undercover at a pageant.
When there are threats of a bomb at a famous beauty contest and scholarship program, the FBI decide to have an agent undercover as part of it. They have to hire a specialist to teach the agent Gracie Hart, a rough and sloppy tomboyish girl, how to act like a Miss United States contestant. She has to do things that she hates and perform a talent which she claims that she doesn't have all while putting up with the teasing of all of the other agents. At the same time she interacts with the other girls trying to figure out, could any of them be involved in this plot?
"I'm in a dress, I have gel in my hair, I haven't slept all night, I'm starved and I'm armed. Don't mess with me!"
Genre: Action, Comedy.
Length: approx. 109 minutes.
Costumes: 7, imagine what you know about any pageant like this. Those are the costumes. A little low sometimes, but what did you expect?
Script: 7, there are a few bad words.
Crew:
Directed by: Donald Petrie.
Written by: Marc Lawrence, Katie Ford, & Caryn Lucas.
Starring:
Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart.
Michael Caine as Victor Melling.
Benjamin Bratt as Eric Matthews.
Candice Bergen as Kathy Morningside.
William Shatner as Stan Fields.
Heather Burns as Miss Rhode Island Cheryl Frasier.
Ernie Hudson as Harry McDonald.
John DiResta as Agent Clonsky.
Melissa De Sousa as Miss New York Karen Krantz.
Steve Monroe as Frank Tobin.
Deirdre Quinn as Miss Texas Mary Jo Wright.
Wendy Raquel Robinson as Miss California Leslie Davis.
Cinematography: 7, just usual.
Cinematography by: László Kovács.
Music: 7, I like the songs scattered throughout.
Music by: Edward Shearmur.
Notes: One of the things that my family quotes from this all the time is a reference to the movie Midnight Cowboy (1969). I didn't know that until the other day!
"Hey! I'm gliding here!"
Quotes: 9, as I mentioned above, there are a lot of good quotes here! Sometimes my sisters and I will start saying whole scenes.
'"What would be your ideal date?"
"That's a tough one. I'd have to say April 25th. Because it's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket!"'
Content: 6, there is crude humor, drinking, and a lot of suggestive things. There is also a character who proclaims to be homosexual, and I'm telling you this as a warning to anyone who is bothered by that. I believe that is only one scene, though.
Originality: 9, a lot of spy stories involve going undercover, but I'm never seen another at a beauty and talent pageant!
Good For: Comedy lovers, fans of the actors.
Age Range: Because of the crude humor and suggestive things this is rated PG-13, but I think I first watched it when I was about 10 and was fine, so it depends on the person.
Overall Score: 7!
Bonus thoughts:
This is a hilarious movie. While there are a few things that I feel "eh" about, it never fails to make me laugh! My favorite parts are all of the interactions between Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine! I actually always think of both of them as "the actors from Miss Congeniality".
Gracie hates that she has to do this. She especially hates the code name that she has "Gracie Lou Freebush" which she made up mocking the contestants. She thinks that it is all fluff and nonsense, but gradually makes friendships with the other girls and realizes what this could mean for someone.


Why did I review this today? I know that none of you were wondering that, but I'm going to tell you anyway. Hamlette at Hamlette's Soliloquy and Quiggy at The Midnite Drive-In are hosting the Beyond Star Trek Blogathon!
The idea of this blogathon is to feature actors who were big in Star Trek in other roles. As I told Hamlette, I'm not much of a "treky" but I thought that this would be fun to do!

For the blogathon:
The Star Trek actor who is in this is William Shatner, who is famous for playing Captain Kirk. I had watched this movie before I saw bits of Star Trek then when I did but I didn't notice any similarities. It wasn't until I was watching Miss Congeniality again with my sister when she pointed out, "Hey, that's Kirk." My response of course was, "Who?" Once she explained I realized that she was correct.
William Shatner plays Stan Fields who is the announcer and host of the pageant. Even when I was watching this the first time I thought that he had a good "announcing" voice.

A big thank you to Quiggy and Hamlette for hosting!
Thanks for reading! Have any of you seen this? Have you seen William Shatner in anything that isn't Star Trek related?

Aloha!

MovieCritic

20 comments:

  1. This sounds like it has a lot of rollicking fun bits, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds like a good movie. I've never seen it before but I probably should since I love comedies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To me this definitely seems like a movie that you'd like, McKayla! It reminds me of Legally Blonde in some ways.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, I'll definitely have to see it. I've seen some of the cast in other movies and they all seem to be good performers.

      Delete
    3. Once you see it let me know what you think! All of the actors work really well together.

      Delete
  3. I can’t believe this movie is now 20 years old!! Need to see it again. Shatner has more movie credits than any other Star Trekker!!
    - C

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I was typing this up I realized that, too! 20 years! I hadn't thought about that, but reading all of the posts for this blogathon I see how that's true.

      Delete
  4. Shatner is great in this. Almost as good as his parody of Simon Cowell in the music video for Brad Paisley's song "Celebrity".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quiggy, I'll have to look that up on YouTube! Thanks for hosting!

      Delete
  5. I love this movie! William Shatner was my favorite part!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I haven't seen this movie, but I've heard the April 25th quote before and it's pretty funny. xD

    theonesthatreallymatter.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, the first time I watched this I didn't get it because I would have given a similar answer. XD It wasn't until rewatching it that I realized what it meant. Lol!

      Delete
  7. action comedy, and undercover? I have to watch this ... someday ;p I'm so bad at watching movies. But I'll tell my brother about it (he devours too many movies every day) and I'm sure he'll find it real quick for me.

    MB: keturahskorner.blogspot.com
    PB: thegirlwhodoesntexist.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your brother and I sound alike! When my siblings ask me how in the world I watch as many movies as I do I just sheepishly grin. XD Let me know what you think of it when you do!

      Delete
  8. Miss Congeniality has become a favourite movie around this house for its good-natured humour and enjoyable cast. We don't generally seek it out, but if it is on, everybody sits and no work gets done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm that way with a lot of movies. I will be very determined to focus on a task then when someone in my family starts watching a movie I'm like a month going to a bright light!

      Delete
  9. This movie is so funny! I haven't watched it in years, but you've made me want to pull it out again soon. Like you, my favorite parts are all the scenes with Michael Caine and Sandra Bullock (one of my favorite actresses).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've read several of your reviews of movies featuring her, but I've only seen her in this, Ocean's 8 and two voice roles. I need to see more, but this will probably still be my favorite. :-)

      Delete

To comment, or not to comment? That is the question. Whatever you decide, I would love to hear from you!! I am always open to suggestions, advice, and any other comments! Even if you don't agree with me, I would love to hear from you as long as you keep the comment respectful and on subject. And, please, no swearing. I love comments on old posts!!
My computer won't let me leave comments, so it might take a few days, but I will reply!

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles