Another Unfortunate Disappointment For Sandra Bullock

I still remember the first time I saw The Shot. You know the one: A group of determined, steely-eyed protagonists walks purposefully toward the camera (always in slow-motion, no less) with anthemic music on the soundtrack bolstering them as they march to face their daunting task. My first recollection of it comes from The Right Stuff and a scene involving the initial group of American astronauts, including John Glenn, Gus Grissom and the like. There, this hyperbolic, exaggerated style was powerfully, perhaps even patriotically, used, but that type of effectiveness is rare. Since then, I’ve seen this shot countless times, in numerous varieties, in all manner of genres, but perhaps none as corny as the sequence in Miss Congeniality: a group of beauticians, hair stylists and fashion consultants, all working around the clock to prep a dowdy FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) to go undercover at a beauty pageant, emerge from their overnight session as one, with the new, improved “babe” strutting her way in the center. Yikes!

Directed by Donald Petrie and co-produced by Bullock, Miss Congeniality centers on graceless Gracie Hart (Bullock), a dedicated FBI agent with little regard for outward appearances. After a lapse in judgment during a heated confrontation, she lands in the doghouse with her Bureau boss (Ernie Hudson). As a ticket back into good standing, one of her male colleagues (Benjamin Bratt) offers her the shot to go undercover at the Miss United States pageant, the scene of a likely attack by a criminal known as “The Citizen.” Gracie reluctantly complies, and the Feds call in a former pageant consultant (Michael Caine) to get her prepped and ready for the big show as Miss New Jersey.

The strength of the film is its eager cast, who all seem to be enjoying themselves on this lark of a film. Candice Bergen is fun as a commanding pageant director and former Miss United States who adamantly refers to the show as “a scholarship program, not a beauty pageant.”  William Shatner is a hoot as the loopy, buoyant emcee, and Caine nicely underplays his role as the gay makeover expert. Bratt does well with the thankless “himbo” role as Bullock’s best friend/sparring partner at the Bureau, and the actresses playing the various Miss United States contestants are a very politically-correct, mixed bunch.

Despite its game cast, Miss Congeniality ultimately disappoints because the material just doesn’t support the film’s running time. If you’ve seen the trailers for the film, you have essentially seen the best parts of the movie, which tends to go for the obvious laugh instead of developing its decent premise. For sure, Miss Congeniality is a light-hearted, agreeable-enough comedy, mainly because it stars one of Hollywood’s most likeable actresses in Bullock, but it fails to take full advantage of its winning premise and ready-and-willing cast. If you were to contrast it with Meet the Parents, another recent comedy with a gem of a premise and ideal casting chemistry, you would see that Miss Congeniality lacks that film’s moments of inspired lunacy and tightly scripted hysterics.

Miss Congeniality, rated PG-13 for sexual references and language, ultimately coasts on its clever casting, decent set-up and the charisma of its star. It has its share of chuckles, but perhaps it’s the script, not Gracie, who should have undergone the intense makeover.