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Movies / Upcoming / Miss Congeniality
Miss Congeniality

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Miss Congeniality (2000)

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Reviews Counted:112

Fresh:45

Rotten:67

Average Rating:5/10

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.

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Genre: Comedies

US 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. [More]

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

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
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No review available.

comment Comment
10/30/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sandra Bullock is simply irresistible, displaying great comedic flair with impeccable timing.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/21/01
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Caine's] performance is probably as deft as the one he gave last year in The Cider House Rules.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
12/22/00
Houston Chronicle

Despite the film's predictable trappings, Bullock shines, tackling the physical comedy with bodacious aplomb.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/22/00
E! Online

No review available.

comment Comment
03/22/02
Globe and Mail
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Boston Phoenix

Seems happily, deliberately second-rate, as if its ideal audience consisted of weary airline passengers.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
12/22/00
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Watching Michael Caine and Sandra Bullock interact testily with each other is this film's special treat.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/02/02
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Dutifully follows each cliché to its painfully obvious conclusion.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
12/22/00
Bob Aulert
Bob Aulert
culturevulture.net

Petrie's formula of keeping it light and bright, and not too confusing, works.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
12/22/00
Bob Thompson
Bob Thompson
Jam! Movies

A light-as-a-feather comedy that’s neither ambitious nor particularly original.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/07/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

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.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

The movie is whipped into a froth with ... skill and humor -- just like those Doris Day comedies.

comment Comment
12/22/00
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Things get as shaky as Grace adjusting to high heels when her warranted contempt for her vapid competitors is worn down by nothing more than superficial bonding at a giggly pizza party.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
12/20/00
Christine James
Christine James
Boxoffice Magazine

Truly, we have mined the beauty pageant satire to death, have we not?

comment Comment
12/21/00
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

Has a lot of charm, which accounts for its success.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
05/04/01
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

Sandra Bullock, who also helped produce the movie, simply shines as Gracie Hart.

Full Review Source: CinemaSense.Com | comment Comment
02/07/01
Cornell & Petricelli
Cornell & Petricelli
CinemaSense.Com

In producing Miss Congeniality, [Bullock has] cast herself ideally, so as to show off her tomboyish giddiness, with a hint of sexy brashness.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
02/07/01
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

It's time for a career makeover for Bullock, who keeps squandering her girl-next-door likeability on trivial projects like this one.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
12/21/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Citysearch

It's inoffensive, dim-witted fun.

Full Review Source: IFilm | comment Comment
12/22/00
Dave White
Dave White
IFilm
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
all

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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