Movie: A+

Sound: A+

Picture: A+

Warner Bros. and director Donald Petrie team up to bring you Miss Congeniality.

"I'm not gonna parade around in a swimsuit like some airhead bimbo that goes by the name, what, Gracie Lou Freebush, and all she wants is world peace!

This may come as a shock to you, but I've never been in a beauty pageant before. I don't even own a dress. I don't even own a brush." -Gracie Hart

When tomboy FBI agent, Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) makes a bad call on a russian drug raid, she gets benched...until Eric (Benjamin Bratt) heads up his first mission to catch serial killer "The Citizen" on his next attack, which happens to be the Miss United States Pagent, San Antonio, Texas. As a last resort (all other agents were either too male, too fat, too old, too ugly or too pregnant) Gracie must go undercover as Miss New Jersey to sniff out the killer before his next big strike.

Enter Vic Melling (Michael Caine), a former beauty consultant with a chip on his shoulder and what seems to be a crush on Eric, who transforms Gracie from "Dirty Harriet" to "Mustang Sally". But don't forget Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen) head of the Miss United States pagent along with the extremely funny, while not intending to be, slightly plump sidekick Stan (William Shatner).

Gracie has hilarious escapades throughout the entire process including but not limited to, fat-free hot chocolate, wearing a bathing suit in public, moody roomates, malfunctioning FBI equipment, perverted Frank (Kathy Morningside's assitant), a 'no smoking' "commercial", all the while staying up all night, every night trying to learn how to be a lady.

Contrary to most reviewers' opinions, I personally enjoyed this movie and have a copy of it in my home collection. True, at times the script was a bit weak, but Sandra pulled through with flying colors. William Shatner is a hoot and is probably my favorite character in the movie...

"Of course he had a gun. This is Texas. Everybody has a gun. My florist has a gun!" -Kathy

"I don't have a gun. My ancestors were Quakers." -Stan

Just the look on William's face when he says that line makes me laugh. Michael Caine did a phenominal job as the slightly feminine (or maybe not so slightly), Vic. The gliding scene shouldn't be missed!

I will admit that Miss Congeniality did have a downside in the form of Benjamin Bratt's character's lines. He did the best he could with what he had but it still didn't turn out quite right. I definitely give him five stars for the 'self-defense' scene. I don't think there are many actors that will put up with being beat up repetitively until they get the scene just right.

The special features on Miss Congeniality include...

Commentary by Sandra Bollock and co-screenwriter Marc Lawrence
Commentary by director Donald Petrie Theatrical trailer Two Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries, Preparing for the Pageant and The Pageant

The two behind-the-scenes specials are great, keep your eyes open for
special (easter egg) deleted scenes! The commentary by Sandra Bullock and Marc Lawrence is hilarious, and chock full of insider info (do YOU know which scene cost the most money, and why? The answer is quite funny...or, do you know which scenes Sandra wanted cut? And, FINALLY find out WHY Gracie Hart was wearing a corsage in the scene where she finds out where the Citizen will strike next...) . Sandra Bullock made watching a commentary a pleasure, instead of a bore. The commentary by Donald Petrie is also interesting, but not as funny as Sandra's

All in all I would recommend Miss Congeniality to just about anyone who would like to kick back for a while and have a good laugh. Remember, don't analyze every scene and every line or you will completely miss what those of us that enjoyed this movie have seen. Even if you don't absolutely adore Miss Congeniality, just think, they could have cast Julia Roberts or Drew Barrymore for the role instead! Now that's scary. This is no summer blockbuster, but it
sure is a lot of fun!

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