“Miss Congeniality” is the movie that showed me just what a great actress Sandra Bullock is. I’d always liked her, but after this film, I really, really liked her.
She stars as Agent Gracie Hart, a hard-working FBI agent who doesn’t believe in the traditional mores of femininity. She dresses like a man, doesn’t take care of herself, and is seen as “one of the guys” by her fellow agents. When the FBI is called in to take down a serial bomber, they need to place an agent inside the Miss United States beauty pageant, and Gracie is the only female on the team. Everyone laughs at the idea of her being a beauty queen, and she has to agree – she’s just not into that stuff. But the FBI needs her, so she allows herself to be made over.
The man in charge of the miracle is Victor Melling (Michael Caine). He oversees her waxing, hairstyle, dress, everything about her. When she emerges in her beauty queen garb, no one can believe it’s really her, until she opens her mouth. She still has all her crass, down-to-earth ways.
Infiltrating the pageant as Miss New Jersey, Gracie goes to work to investigate. The pageant coordinator, Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen) knows who she is, and guarantees that she’ll get placed in the top ten, but beyond that, she’s on her own.
Gracie does the best talent I’ve seen at any pageant – she does a display of self-defense tactics. (Loved it!) She also makes good friends with the other girls, and brings down the bomber in style.
There is some violence and some language in this film, but in my mind, not enough to keep me from thoroughly enjoying it. If you like a mystery and you also like comedy, this one is a keeper.
This film is rated PG-13.
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