Miss Congeniality

"I would so love to hurt you right now."

"As long as you smile."

Gracie Hart (Bullock) is an FBI agent, stuck on desk duty after her actions resulted in another agent getting shot.  All that changes when they receive a bomb threat for the Miss United States beauty pageant.  The FBI decide to send an agent undercover as a contestant in the pageant.  The team is led by Hart's partner, Agent Eric Matthews (Bratt) who chooses Hart as the undercover agent.  Hart is a tomboy and things pageants are ridiculous.  She is sent to pageant coach Victor Melling (Caine) for a makeover and to learn pageant etiquette.  He has two days to turn her into a lady.

She enters the pageant as "Gracie Lou Freebush, Miss New Jersey," and immediately clashes with Kathy Morningside (Bergen), a former Miss United States winner and the current director.  Kathy thins Hart will turn the pageant into a mockery.  As Matthews' team provides surveillance, Hart reluctantly goes through the motions of the pageant.  Can she protect the ladies, without losing who she is?


I love this movie.  I probably shouldn't, but I can't help it.  Sandra Bullock is a gem.  The majority of her roles in the 1990s-2000s were in romantic comedies, and those are the films that helped make her a star. Bullock uses her considerable charisma to breathe life into Gracie Hart.  She does a little bit of everything in the film: beat up her costars (she did many of her own stunts), have awkward/clumsy moments (she falls a lot), get a makeover, etc. 

Michael Caine gets to swap insults with Bullock, while still maintaining an air of dignity.  Benjamin Bratt is the eye candy, obvious love interest, and sparring partner, and he does well with the part.  William Shatner is endearing as the slightly clueless Stan.  Candice Bergen is a strong antagonist.  The rest of the cast fill out their roles well.  The script doesn't ask much from many of the cast members.  It might not be the best film, but it is entertaining and is often featured on TV.

I loved this movie when it first came out, when I was in high school.  Watching it now, I still enjoy it... but most of the reviews I just read weren't impressed with the film.  Despite that, in 2004 they released a sequel Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, that got rid of most of the characters from the original and there was no love interest.

Miss Congeniality (2000) 109 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sexual references and a scene of violence
Director: Donald Petrie
Starring: Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart
Michael Caine as Victor Melling
Benjamin Bratt as Eric Matthews
Candice Bergen as Kathy Morningside
William Shatner as Stan Fields
Ernie Hudson as Harry McDonald
John DiResta as Agent Clonsky
Heather Burns as Cheryl Frasier, Miss Rhode Island
Melissa De Sousa as Karen Krantz, Miss New York
Steve Monroe as Frank Tobin
Deirdre Quinn as Mary Jo Wright, Miss Texas
Wendy Raquel Robinson as Leslie Davis, Miss California
Asia De Marcos as Alana Krewson, Miss Hawaii