Miss Congeniality (2000)

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writers (WGA):

Marc Lawrence (written by) &
Katie Ford (written by) ...

Release Date:

22 December 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Unpolished. Unkempt. Unleashed. Undercover.

Plot:

An FBI agent must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event.

Plot Keywords:

Pageant | Beauty Pageant | Undercover | Female Agent | FBI

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Jan. 1	9:00 AM	E
Fri. Jan. 1	6:00 PM	E

Cast

Sandra Bullock	...	Gracie Hart
Michael Caine	...	Victor Melling
Benjamin Bratt	...	Eric Matthews
Candice Bergen	...	Kathy Morningside
Ernie Hudson	...	Harry McDonald
William Shatner	...	Stan Fields
John DiResta	...	Agent Clonsky
Heather Burns	...	Cheryl Frasier, Miss Rhode Island
Melissa De Sousa	...	Karen Krantz, Miss New York
Steve Monroe	...	Frank Tobin
Deirdre Quinn	...	Mary Jo Wright, Miss Texas
Wendy Raquel Robinson	...	Leslie Davis, Miss California
Asia De Marcos	...	Alana Krewson, Miss Hawaii
Ken Thomas	...	Agent Harris
Gabriel Folse	...	Agent Jerry Grant

Also Known As:

Miss Undercover (Europe) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual references and a scene of violence.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English | Russian | French | Hawaiian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:14 | Ireland:12 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Austin Studios - 1901 E. 51st Street, Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Many crew members had cameos.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Miss Rhode Island is doing her flaming baton routine, the batons are clearly scorched black, but when her routine is over they appear unscorched, without having been extinguished.

Quotes:

Kathy Morningside: Oh, Oh Victor. You'll take the bags to the room. I realize it's been awhile since you've been with us, but you remember how everything goes, don't you?
[Kathy walks off with Gracie]
Victor Melling: One little mistake and I'm a bloody bellhop!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Right Stuff (1983)

Soundtrack:

Semper Fidelis

There are 100 things wrong with it...but you may catch yourself smiling after thinking it over

It's over-the-top, it's occasionally offensive--to men, to women, to gays, to lesbians, and to poor Miss Hawaii--but "Miss Congeniality" has Sandra Bullock, and she's wonderful. The opening moments, with FBI agent Bullock busting Russians in a restaurant sting operation, are so good that the movie might've played very well as an FBI comedy-drama, with Bullock on different cases. I mean, maybe they should've ditched the pageant stuff, at least until next time. But, no, Bullock goes undercover as a contestant in the Miss U.S. pageant, and the movie turns into your typical makeover thing. Lots of breast jokes, TOO many high heel pratfalls, and Michael Caine as a peculiar makeover artist (he's "dripping with disdain" one minute, fatherly the next, then bitter, then cuddly). Bullock has no chemistry with Benjamin Bratt as her boss on the operation (that's not her fault, however) and I wanted more of her home life (and that doomed microwave oven), but what works does work well. Sandra's "bonding" paint party with the girls is terrific, as is her friendship with shaky Miss Rhode Island and her attempts to face down snarling Ernie Hudson as the FBI chieftain (who, like in "Ghostbusters", gets no funny lines). The movie rests solely on Bullock's shoulders, and she delivers. The movie may not be comic genius, but it is congenial. **1/2 from ****