DVD Movie Rating for: Miss Congeniality

3 out of 5

Movie Plot of: Miss Congeniality

When a serial killer indicates that his next target is the Miss United States beauty pageant, the F.B.I. decides that they must get an undercover agent as a participant in the contest. A search uncovers no suitable candidate other than a bumbling female agent (Sandra Bullock). Reluctantly, her captain (Ernie Hudson) agrees to let her join the team working the case. The team is led by a womanizing agent (Ben Bratt) who has an apparent reluctant attraction to Bullock's character. She enters as Miss New Jersey, replacing a contestant who was discovered to have acted in a porno film. The pageant managers (Candice Bergen, William Shatner) are immediately aghast about the agent appearing in the pageant, but arrange a top handler (Michael Caine) to come give her a quick makeover, with the expected outstanding results. Unfortunately, she still is bumbling. When the killer is suddenly caught, everything seems to be over, except the female agent tries to convince her boss that something is still not right. She has discovered that the pageant managers are being dismissed after 21 years for younger people, and Bergen's character may not be as solid as she seems on the surface.

DVD Production Details of: Miss Congeniality

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine

Director: Donald Petrie

Format: Color, Closed-captioned

Studio: Warner Studios

DVD Release Date: February 4, 2003
DVD Features:
Commentary by Sandra Bollock and co-screenwriter Marc Lawrence

Commentary by director Donald Petrie

Theatrical trailer(s)

Two Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries, Preparing for the Pageant and The Pageant

Widescreen anamorphic format

DVD Easter Eggs

Deleted Scenes
In the special features menu are two behind-the-scenes documentaries, "Preparing for the Pageant" and "The Pageant." Watch either documentary to the end (or fast forward through it) and you will find a couple of deletes scenes after the behind-the-scenes stuff finishes. There are different deleted scenes after each documentary.

Cast of the movie: Miss Congeniality

• Sandra Bullock .... FBI Agent Grace Hart/Gracie Lou Freebush (NJ)
• Michael Caine .... Victor 'Mr. Vic' Melling
• Benjamin Bratt .... FBI Agent Eric Matthews
• Candice Bergen .... Kathy Morningside
• Ernie Hudson .... FBI Asst. Director Harry McDonald
• William Shatner .... Stan Fields
• John DiResta .... Agent Clonsky
• Heather Burns .... Cheryl Frasier (RI)/Miss United States
• Melissa De Sousa .... Karen Krantz (NY)
• Steve Monroe .... Frank Tobin/Frank Morningside
• Deirdre Quinn .... Mary Jo Wright (TX)
• Wendy Raquel Robinson .... Leslie Davis (CA)
• Asia De Marcos .... Alana 'Five-O' Krewson (HI)
• Ken Thomas .... FBI Agent Harris

Photo Gallery of the movie: Miss Congeniality

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs

Miss Congeniality

Reviews of the movie: Miss Congeniality

It's a good thing Sandra Bullock knows her strengths and weaknesses, because without Bullock as star and producer, Miss Congeniality would be an insufferable mess as opposed to being a mildly enjoyable trifle that is custom-made for Bullock's established screen persona. Only Bullock's fans could really appreciate this fluff (even then they'll wish its ripe premise had been more intelligently handled), but it's not without some highlights to accompany Bullock's reliable charms. Here she plays clumsy, nerdy FBI agent Gracie Hart, who is given the horrific pseudonym Gracie Lou Freebush (one example of the movie's juvenile tendencies) when assigned to infiltrate a beauty pageant to investigate threats of a terrorist attack.

Transforming Bullock from frumpy to stunning is a piece of cake (although she gives pageant coach Michael Caine a run for his money), so the movie's premise is trivial at best. More enjoyable is her character's uncouth disdain for pageant contestants and her mistaken perception that they're all a bunch of bimbos. The movie nicely charts Gracie's realization that her own pageant makeover provides a much-needed ego boost. In addition to Caine's effortless scene-stealing, pageant host William Shatner and organizer Candice Bergen are smart choices for comedic support (Shatner's a perfect Bert Parks wannabe), but the movie desperately needs a credible foundation for its comedy to really pay off. Bullock's bureau boss (Benjamin Bratt) is an unconvincing dimwit, and none of the plotting is as smart as say Beverly Hills Cop in combining procedure with laughs. That leaves Bullock to carry the burden of a comedy that just barely works in her favor.

Funny, but the plot is just plain silly and the end doesn't cut it
When `The Citizen', a unabomber style terrorist, makes a threat against the Miss America beauty pageant FBI agent Gracie Hart goes undercover as Miss New Jersey. With the help of trainer Victor Melling Gracie becomes a suitably graceful contestant. However the threat of the Citizen remains imminent.

This is the type of thing Sandra Bullock is good in – fluffy comedies that are amusing when you watch them but make very little sense and don't stick in your mind after you watch it. The plot here is paper thin and doesn't sit well with the comedy. What it creates is a film that is light and breezy and quite funny but goes to pieces when it tries to suddenly have a big dramatic conclusion. The comedy is actaully quite good – not because of one liners or anything but just because it's all quite nice and enjoyable.

Bullock is good because she can be both dowdy in a `girl next door' way but also be drop dead gorgeous. She is funny because she isn't really the beauty queen type. Caine is good in a camp role and does better than Shatner who doesn't seem to have anything to do. The rest of the cast are good and have plenty of faces – Ben Bratt, Ernie Hudson etc.

Overall this is not a bad popcorn movie – the `dramatic, shock conclusion' is neither exciting nor `shocking' – but the light breezy comedy holds up well.