Themes: Fish Out of Water, Going Undercover, Cinderella Stories
Main Cast: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, John DiResta, Candice Bergen
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI agent with a reputation for being aggressive and hard-nosed, who has long wanted to duplicate the career of her deceased mother, also an FBI agent, who died in the line of duty. Her cantankerous nature, though, has made her few friends, excepting her trusting, sensitive partner Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt). However, her true abilities are put to the test when she is called upon to infiltrate a Miss United States pageant after a terrorist threatens to bomb it. Gracie, who prides herself on her toughness, must now feminize her behavior to effectively participate in the pageant with the aid of Victor Melling (Michael Caine), a pompous consultant who dreams of whisking away Gracie's past self and creating "Gracie Lou Freebush" for an appreciative, all-American audience. After her arduous conversion, Gracie must play the role of beauty queen and FBI agent, and try not to blow her undercover outfit. Miss Congeniality, which was produced by star Bullock, features television stalwarts William Shatner and Candice Bergen in supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Review
Following a long string of financially disappointing films, Sandra Bullock attempted a return to star status with this glossy, effective action comedy that she also produced through her company Fortis Films. If the script for Miss Congeniality is too by-the-numbers, predictable, and preprogrammed, it also makes exuberantly satirical use of its main idea of a butch FBI agent undercover at a beauty pageant, sending up that world's participants with relish. Particularly noteworthy are vigorous, funny supporting performances from Michael Caine and William Shatner as longtime pageant veterans suffering the vagaries of their profession with good humor and wit. When Bullock turns on her high-wattage charm, as she does here, she earns her status as an alternative Julia Roberts. (Indeed, her vibrant acting quickly earned her a Golden Globe nomination.) With a smidgen more edge and a dash of extra attitude -- perhaps casting her as a lesbian instead of a red-blooded heterosexual -- Bullock's film might truly have been a classic comedy. But in the hands of director Donald Petrie, who's overly friendly with the lowest common denominator, the watered-down final product is too eager to please. At its core, however, Miss Congeniality is an entertaining farce that prevails in its chief effort -- putting Bullock back on the mainstream map. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Heather Burns - Cheryl "Rhode Island"; Melissa DeSousa - Karen "New York"; Steve Monroe - Frank Tobin; Stephen Bruton - Bartender
Credit
Raymond Kluga - Art Director, Denise Chamian - Casting, Scott Grossman - Choreography, Katie Ford - Co-producer, Susie de Santo - Costume Designer, Ellen H. Schwartz - First Assistant Director, Donald Petrie - Director, Billy Weber - Editor, Ginger Sledge - Executive Producer, Bruce Berman - Executive Producer, Marc Lawrence - Executive Producer, Ed Shearmur - Composer (Music Score), Steve Schnur - Musical Direction/Supervision, Steffan Olsson - Songwriter, Peter Larkin - Production Designer, Laszlo Kovacs - Cinematographer, Sandra Bullock - Producer, Barbara Haberecht - Set Designer, John Pritchett - Sound/Sound Designer, Marc Lawrence - Screen Story, Katie Ford - Screenwriter, Marc Lawrence - Screenwriter, Raymond Prado - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Raymond Prado - Additional Cinematography, David Hankins - Supervising Sound Editor, Barbara Haberecht - Set Decorator, Randy Smith Huke - Set Decorator, Caryn Lucas - Short Story Author
Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI agent who goes undercover in the fictional Miss United States scholarship program/beauty pageant in San Antonio, Texas on the lookout for a terrorist. She, who is not traditionally attractive, is turned into a more attractive woman going by the name of Gracie Lou Freebush, with the same tomboyish habits (eg. snorting while laughing). She is seen overreacting to a gun-toting Texan, wearing a Tyrolean for her talent competition, much to the dismay of her mentor, Victor Melling (Michael Caine) and the director of the competition and former queen, Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen), and using her on-stage talent to demonstrate self-defense techniques.
In the pageant itself, Hart, competing on behalf of the state of New Jersey was tabbed to advance to the top 10, but gets through on talent alone for the rest of the pageant. She eventually places as runner up to Cheryl Frasier (Miss Rhode Island). It is revealed at the end of the movie that Morningside and her son, Frank Morningside (gone under the name Tobin to hide his many crimes) have plotted to sabotage the pageant. They are caught after the title crown (which is rigged with a bomb) detonates at conclusion of the pageant, and Gracie is awarded "Miss Congeniality" (although The Miss Congeniality award is usually given during the pageant itself, a custom in pageants such as Miss USA and Miss Universe) and starts a relationship with her partner Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt).
Most of the movie was shot in Austin, Texas, though it was set in New York City and San Antonio. Exteriors of the St. Regis and a few street scenes were shot in New York. The interior of the St. Regis was actually Austin's Driskill Hotel. The Alamo and River Walk scenes in San Antonio were shot in there. The pageant itself was shot at Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas at Austin and the hotel hosting the contestants was the Hyatt on Lady Bird Lake, again in Austin.
Reception
The movie was a box office hit, grossing more than $106 million at the U.S. box office and grossed over $212 million worldwide. It was nominated for several awards, including two Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical for Sandra Bullock and Best Original Song - Motion Picture for Bosson's "One in a Million".
DVD Release
According to DvdTown, the DVD was released on June 1, 2004, including two commentaries, some deleted scenes, the theatrical trailer, and two documentaries. On March 3, 2005, a deluxe edition of the film was released, including different cover art for the DVD and menu. It contained the same features as the other DVD version plus a quiz hosted by William Shatner and a sneak peek at the second film. No Blu-ray edition has been released yet.
