Bullock’s talent for gentle farce is not enough to carry her here; there are only so many times she can get a laugh out of stumbling in her high heels and talking with her mouth full.
Miss Congeniality (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 110
Fresh: 45
Rotten:65
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Consensus: Though critics say Bullock is funny and charming, she can't overcome a bad script that makes the movie feel too much like a fluffy, unoriginal sitcom.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual references and a scene of violence
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Dec 22, 2000 Wide
Box Office: $105,541,467
Synopsis:
The Miss United States Pageant, hallowed and revered home of American beauty for the past fifty years, has received a threat from one of the country's most infamous criminals, the "Citizen." The...
The Miss United States Pageant, hallowed and revered home of American beauty for the past fifty years, has received a threat from one of the country's most infamous criminals, the "Citizen." The F.B.I. has been tracking this psychopath forever as his rampage of bombings, shootings and arson terrorizes the nation. This may finally be their chance to nab him.
The plan? Simple. Get one of their agents into the pageant, undercover, as a contestant. Fix the judging so she's on stage right to the end, in the "top five." Equip her with a state of the art surveillance equipment. Finding that agent? Not so simple.
A computer search of all available female agents turns out a decidedly unphotogenic group, except for Special Agent Gracie Hart (SANDRA BULLOCK). She looks terrific on the computer in a bathing suit; she might even fool everyone in an evening gown, especially if she puts a brush to her hair. But Gracie doesn't own a brush. Or a dress. Or high heels. Or as her fellow agent and head of the undercover operation, Eric Matthews (BENJAMIN BRATT) puts it; she's a "car wreck." And Gracie has no desire to join the ranks of what she refers to as a "bunch of bikini stuffers who only want world peace."
Which is why the Bureau hires beauty pageant consultant Victor Melling (MICHAEL CAINE) to transform Gracie -- or as he re-names her, "Dirty Harriet" into Gracie Lou Freebush -- the perfect pageant contestant. Henry Higgins had a day at the beach compared to what Vic is up against in beautifying a woman "without a detectable smidgen of estrogen." But the fate of the pageant hangs in the balance, and considering that Gracie's refusal to follow orders has already placed her job in jeopardy, this may be her last chance to make it in her beloved Bureau.
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Candice Bergen, Michael Caine, William Shatner
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Candice Bergen, Michael Caine, William Shatner, Benjamin Bratt, Ernie Hudson, Heather Burns, Steve Monroe, John DiResta, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Deirdre Quinn
Director: Donald Petrie
Director: Donald Petrie
Screenwriter: Marc Lawrence, Caryn Lucas, Katie Ford
Producer: Sandra Bullock
Composer: Edward Shearmur
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for Miss Congeniality
While there may not be many surprises, there's little to dislike either.
Sandra Bullock (who also produces) takes a lame idea of a script, splashes her considerable allure all over it, and comes away with an amiable, light-hearted holiday charmer.
Basically, this is like a really bad film from the eighties, that seems to be remade with Sandra Bullock digitally grafted onto the horrible plot.
Miss Congeniality isn't awful, but it isn't utterly entertaining or incredibly original either, it's just right in the middle.
No one does this kind of thing better than Bullock, but one wonders for how long she can pull it off. Perhaps for as long as it pays.
Sandra Bullock is in a class of her own and it's only partly a matter of beauty. Perhaps the larger part is that shining, irresistible personality that lights a room, a runway, a silver screen. She can get you interested in the phone directory.
Caine may save the movie, but Bullock is the movie. The confection rests on her considerable off-center charm and beauty.
With this cutesy bit of ick, Sandra Bullock squanders the good will she engendered with her surprisingly complex portrayal of a party girl in rehab in 28 Days.
Taking a potshot at the beauty pageant industry, Miss Congeniality is entertainment as light as a well-shaped hairdo, fitted out with skin-deep characterizations and a plot that has the all complexity of a G-string bikini.
The title refers to the Miss America pageant award given to "the person who was nicest to everyone," and this seems perfectly apt for Bullock’s winning performance.
Sandra Bullock gives her regular-gal aura a serious workout in Miss Congeniality as an ugly-duckling FBI agent transformed into a beauty-pageant swan. And, by gum, she pulls it off.
Like most beauty pageant contestants themselves, Miss Congeniality is all charm and little substance.
Watching Michael Caine and Sandra Bullock interact testily with each other is this film's special treat.
Marc Lawrence's screenplay isn't particularly fresh, but it does include an assortment of snappy one-liners, most of them tripping off the velvet tongue of Michael Caine...
Mais um ponto para Sandra Bullock, que prova merecer, assim como sua personagem, o título de Miss Simpatia.
Latest News for Miss Congeniality
July 18, 2005:
In Other News: Marital Edition...Jude Law, Sandra Bullock, and Frankie Muniz
In Other News is back, with marital highs and lows alike to keep you gossip-mongers happy...starting with "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" star Jude Law, whose... More...
June 16, 2005:
In Other News...Sandra Bullock, Kirsten Dunst, and Brangelina
"Crash" star Sandra Bullock is speeding along the way to wedded bliss -- US Weekly reports she has set a date with boyfriend Jesse James to marry next month. More...
March 26, 2005:
Box Office: “Guess Who” Topped The Box Office?
Two comedies battled for box office supremacy this Easter weekend and the interracial romantic comedy “Guess Who,” starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac, handily defeated “Miss... More...
March 24, 2005:
Critical Consensus: "Miss Congeniality" Armed, But Unfabulous
It’s been a while since Sandra Bullock’s last appearance on the big screen – 2002’s romantic comedy hit, “Two Weeks Notice,” co-starring Hugh Grant. She returns with “Miss... More...
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