Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
© 2005 Ray Wong (http://reelreviews.blogspot.com)
Stars: Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Murciano, William Shatner,
Ernie Hudson, Heather Burns, Diedrich Bader, Treat Williams, Abraham
Benrubi, Nick Offerman
Director: John Pasquin
Writers: Marc Lawrence, Katie Ford, Caryn Lucas
Distributor: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual-themed humor
Running time: 115 minutes
Script - 6
Performance - 7
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 6
Music/Sound- 6
Editing - 7
Production - 7
Total Score - 6.6 out of 10
It took FBI agent/Miss Congeniality Gracie Hart a few weeks to return
to the limelight. But in reality, it took five years for the filmmakers
(Bullock as producer) to make the sequel. I think it's quite a feat
to make everyone look exactly the same as the original (Oh, Sandra, how
do you keep your youth and figure for five years?) But what is it with
Hollywood and sequels? Is March the official "sequel till you drop"
month?
Fresh off her assignment and winning Miss Congeniality at the Miss
United States contest, Gracie Hart (Bullock) tries to resume to duty as
an FBI field agent. But her new-found fame gets in the way and
jeopardizes her work and her coworkers' safety. Not to mention it
becomes too much to handle for her beau. Broken hearted and trying to
become more "acceptable," she takes her boss McDonald's (Hudson)
offer to become the "New Face of FBI" - a fluffy spokes model
job. Assigned to her is bulldog of an FBI agent, Sam Fuller (King),
newly transferred from Chicago because of "anger management"
issues.
When Gracie's good friends, Miss United States (Burns) and the
pageant M.C. Stan Fields (Shatner) are kidnapped, Gracie is sent to Las
Vegas for publicity purposes. Instead, she keeps getting herself
involved in the investigation with the help of her gay stylist Joel
(Bader) and a fellow FBI agent Foreman (Murciano). As Gracie and Fuller
try to do what is right, they continue to butt heads with each other.
Eventually, they must learn to work together in order to save the day.
Bullock (TWO WEEKS NOTICE) reprises her role as Gracie Hart as if she
just played it last year. By now she has the klutzy, unassuming agent
nailed. She continues to exude the self-deprecating, girl-next-door
charm that defines her public persona. Gracie Hart fits Bullock like a
glove. King (RAY), on the other hand, plays against type as the
hard-nosed, anti-social Fuller. She is funny and a dynamite player
opposite Bullock. Together they make solid female buddies this side of
Thelma and Louise.
Burns (TWO WEEKS NOTICE), Shatner (DODGEBALL) and Hudson (THE WATCHER)
also reprise their respective minor roles; they're very good sports.
Joining the cast are Murciano (BLACK HAWK DOWN) as the befuddled but
sweet agent Foreman, and Bader (NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE) as the gay stylist
(Michael Caine's service must be too expensive to procure). Both of
them pull in adequately funny, if not two-dimensional, performances.
The baddies are played by Benrubi (WITHOUT A PADDLE) and Offerman
(CURSED), your typical clownish villains. Added to mix is Williams
(TV's EVERWOOD) as the snake/rat-incarnate agent Collins.
Bullock hires director Pasquin (for her executive-produced GEORGE
LOPEZ) for this endeavor. The result is on the par with other slapstick
comedies (do we have to bring up WHITE CHICKS?) and reminiscent of his
other efforts: JOE SOMEBODY or THE SANTA CLAUSE. Writers Lawrence, Ford
and Lucas do keep the pace snappy and the dialogue short and sharp. The
plot is relatively straightforward - except for some unnecessary
clutters and diversions, it remains clear enough that even a child can
understand.
I must admit, this is not the smartest and most original script ever
written in Hollywood, but it makes me laugh. For a goofball comedy, I
think it does the job. It has everything: buddy humor, action,
slapstick, gay jokes, farce, physical comedy, and so on. I usually
automatically lower my IQ when I watch a comedy like this, so the plot
holes don't bother me that much. On the other hand, it lacks certain
poignancy of the original, and one must miss the brilliant presence of
Caine and Candice Bergen. But Bullock continues to win our adoration
with her light-hearted performance, and her chemistry with King is
excellent. While this film might not win the comedy crown, its ability
to make me laugh out loud suits me quite congenially.
========== X-RAMR-ID: 39630 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1373341 X-RT-TitleID: 10003891 X-RT-SourceID: 1664 X-RT-AuthorID: 11500 X-RT-RatingText: 6.6/10
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