Beautiful (2000)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Sally Field

Writer (WGA):

Jon Bernstein (written by)

Release Date:

29 September 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Sometimes you have to give up the life of your dreams, to discover the dream of your life.

Plot:

Mona sacrifices everything, including family, in pursuit of a beauty pageant victory. Her friend Ruby helps her to an amazing degree.

Plot Keywords:

Beauty Pageant | Friendship | Family Secret | Secret Parent | Pantyhose

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Minnie Driver	...	Mona Hibbard
Joey Lauren Adams	...	Ruby
Hallie Kate Eisenberg	...	Vanessa
Kathleen Turner	...	Verna Chickle
Leslie Stefanson	...	Joyce Parkins
Bridgette Wilson	...	Lorna Larkin, Miss Texas (as Bridgette L. Wilson)
Kathleen Robertson	...	Wanda Love, Miss Tennessee
Michael McKean	...	Lance DeSalvo
Gary Collins	...	Miss American Miss Host
Linda Hart	...	Nedra Hibbard
Brent Briscoe	...	Lurdy
Colleen Rennison	...	Mona at 12
Jacqueline Steiger	...	Ruby at 12
Sylvia Short	...	Alberta
Herta Ware	...	Clara

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37375)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Destination Films

Trivia:

Bridgette Wilson who plays Miss Texas was actually once Miss Teen USA.

Goofs:

Continuity: There are references to there being 50 representatives in the pageant, however "Miss District of Columbia" is seen numerous times during the early stages of the pageant.

Quotes:

Lorna Larkin: I'm Lorna Larkin, Miss Texas. I'm a magna cum laude graduate from the University of Texas with a double degree in genetic engineering and cosmetology.

Movie Connections:

References "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (1986)

Soundtrack:

The Wind Beneath My Wings

Predictable, but overall a good heart-warming movie

Mona Hibbard has a rough childhood, as is shown from the very beginning, yet this never stops her from living out her dream of becoming Miss American Miss. Mona is an entrepreneur early on when she starts up her own neighborhood delivery business where she works for small amounts of money just to pay for all of the things she purchases in order to someday fulfill her dream, such as braces and pageant classes. Although Mona does some malicious things throughout the movie, such as letting her friend raise her daughter so that she can still compete and taking a pregnant woman to the hospital in a shopping cart just to get picture in the paper, I think the point that (Sally) Fields' is trying to get across is that she had the desire to achieve her dream, and she never let anything stand in her way on the road there. It wasn't easy for Mona, but she made her dreams become a reality, as it is implied that many of the other Miss American Miss contestants had it handed to them. I just love the ending, one of those movies that made me cry. I also loved the song at the end by Dee Carstensen, wonderful song. Overall, I enjoyed this movie very much and have watched it time and time again with my sister.