Miss Congeniality 1 And 2 [DVD] [2000]

Amazon.co.uk Review The Miss Congeniality movies are custom-made for Sandra Bullock's screen career persona. She plays clumsy, nerdy FBI agent Gracie Hart, who is given the horrific pseudonym Gracie Lou Freebush (one example of the movie's juvenile tendencies) when assigned to infiltrate a beauty pageant to investigate threats of a terrorist attack. Transforming Bullock from frumpy geek to stunning contestant was always going to be a piece of cake so the premise for the first Miss Congeniality tale is tenuous at best. More enjoyable is her character's uncouth disdain for pageant contestants and her mistaken perception that they're all a bunch of bimbos. The film nicely charts Gracie's realisation that her own pageant makeover provides a much-needed ego boost, although she gives pageant coach Victor, played by Michael Caine, a run for his money. In addition to Caine's effortless scene-stealing, William Shatner as pageant host and Candice Bergen as the event organiser are smart choices for comedic support, but the movie desperately needs a credible foundation for its comedy to really pay off. Bullock's bureau boss (Benjamin Bratt) is an unconvincing dimwit, and none of the plotting is as smart as, for example, Beverly Hills Cop in combining procedure with laughs. That leaves Bullock to carry the burden of a comedy that barely works in her favour. Only Bullock's fans will appreciate the sequel, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. Dumped by her boyfriend (whom Benjamin Bratt wisely decided not to portray this time around), a gloomy Gracie goes along with the promo biz until her friend, Miss United States (Heather Burns), is kidnapped along with Stan Fields (William Shatner) in Las Vegas. Bullock still has enough perk to please her fans, but neither she nor her awkward alter-ego make a success of this sequel to a film released five years earlier. --Jeff Shannon Product Description A double-helping of Sandra Bullock comedies. In 'Miss Congeniality' (2000), when the Miss United States beauty pageant receives a threat from a notorious criminal, hardnosed FBI agent Gracie Hart (Bullock) is assigned to go undercover as a contestant in the competition and track him down. Gracie is none too happy about this, and when top expert Victor Melling (Michael Caine) arrives to help transform her from a tomboy into a convincingly elegant Miss New Jersey, she proves to be a most difficult student. Nevertheless, after Gracie enters the pageant, she soon forms a strong bond with her fellow contestants, and begins to worry for their safety as the killer continues to elude arrest. In the sequel, 'Miss Congeniality 2' (2005), things haven't been going so well for Gracie lately. Reeling from a broken romance and frustrated to find her newfound fame is jeopardizing the undercover work she loves, Gracie reluctantly agrees to serve the Bureau in the only way possible: coifed and styled for the talk show circuit as 'the face of the FBI'. Though resistant at first, she soon warms to the attention and it's not long before she's getting into her new role a little too much. Her new partner Sam Fuller (Regina King), a tough, ambitious agent who is clearly not her biggest fan, is the first to point out that the pampered Bureau star is turning into FBI Barbie. But when Gracie's best friend, pageant winner Cheryl Frazier (Heather Burns), and emcee Stan Fields (William Shatner), are kidnapped in Las Vegas, Gracie's crime-fighting instincts kick back in. Not wanting to risk losing their greatest PR asset, the FBI top brass forbid her to get involved and charge Sam with keeping her in line. But when it comes to breaking a difficult case and helping her friends, there's nothing Gracie won't do.