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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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81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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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

A delightful, endearing little comedy with a wonderfully clever script and great performances from Bullock and Michael Caine.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
12/22/00
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

A barrage of dangling plot strands, inconsistent characterizations, and suspense-free shootouts.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
12/21/00
Kevin Maynard
Kevin Maynard
Mr. Showbiz

The screenplay lacks any sense of consistency, treating all the contestants derisively -- and then trying to convince us that, deep down, they're all really wonderful women.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
12/21/00
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

The jokes are lame, the set-up is stupid and Bullock, occasionally a winsome comedienne and here a co-producer, is annoying as heck.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/21/00
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Once again, Bullock is willing but the material is weak.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
12/21/00
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Donald Petrie has made a fun film, not a great film, but fun.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
12/21/00
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

With Bullock, you don't have time to wrap your mind around the notion that she's a butt-kicking tomboy before she's reverted to her trademark cutesy-poo act.

comment Comment
12/21/00
Mark Caro
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune

The film stomps along desperately looking for big laughs.

Full Review Source: Talking Pictures (U.S.) | comment Comment
12/21/00
Tony Toscano
Tony Toscano
Talking Pictures (U.S.)

It comes across as shrill, contrived and forced.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
12/21/00
Tom Sander
Tom Sander
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Without help from either script or director, poor Bullock gets stuck as a distant runner-up in this featherweight farce.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
12/21/00
George Meyer
George Meyer
Orlando Weekly

It's an amiable comedy and provides a forum for [Bullock] to showcase her gift for comedy.

comment Comment
12/21/00
Jean Oppenheimer
Jean Oppenheimer
New Times

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

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

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

It all coalesces in a TV-level pleasantness, which isn't quite enough to fill a big screen.

comment Comment
12/21/00
Robert Horton
Robert Horton
Film.com

It misses so many genuine opportunities for comedy that it becomes another reminder of writers not doing their homework and slapping together a paint-by-numbers plot.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/21/00
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

Just retype the plot, slap in the same complaints, and bam -- new Bullock movie review.

Full Review Source: Jeff Huston's Believe Me | comment Comment
12/21/00
Jeffrey Huston
Jeffrey Huston
Jeff Huston's Believe Me

What say we let these folks take another stab at it with a better script, OK?

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
12/20/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

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

You could do a lot worse during the holiday season than this sparkling, congenial tale.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
12/18/00
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; 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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