Score: 5/10
The film takes the mockumentary approach to the subject of teen beauty pageants. Its a dark approach, but actually not dark enough. That's where I think the film struggled, the actors are all lovely and enduring, but the girls responsible for the explosion and falling set pieces, should have been more witchy and over the top not as appealing. Its really no secret who's responsible, once the viewer starts watching.
As the story goes, a documentary crew is filming the Sarah Rose Miss Teen America Pageant in Minnesota. What starts off as an innocent pageant among the young ladies of Sarah Rose, leads to murder and mayhem. The main struggle for the crown is between Amber Adkins (Kirsten Dunst) and Rebecca Lehman (Denise Richards). Amber is the rags to riches girl who works two jobs to find income for the trailer park lifestyle she shares with her trashy Mom, Annette, who swears, smokes and drinks worse than most college kids. Rebecca/"Becky" comes from the elite of the small town, her mother Gladys (Kirstie Alley) helps run the pageant and is former winner of 1979-80 circuit. Her father, Lester (Sam McMurray) owns the area furniture store and both parents only want the best for Becky. With a supporting cast of familiar faces it is those characters that really make the film enjoyable to watch. The antics don't cease, but what does is, the story, not much there. Moments are over-cliche'd and the portraits of Americana, just fall apart. The random moments aren't really random, either weakly portrayed or just a feeling of skit-like filler. Funny indeed, but only for that moment.
Stereotype character John Dough (Matt Malloy) the creeper as a pageant judge is fun to watch chain smoke and play off the fact that he is a creeper. Other notable characters fill the roster, Leslie Miller/ the slut high school girl (Amy Adams), Lisa Swinson/NY Broadway wannabe (Brittany Murphy) and former pageant winner/anorexic Mary Johanson (Alexandra Holden). Also Iris Clark (Mindy Sterling) is a great co-pageant director, hardware store owner/pageant judge Harold Vilmes (Michael McShane, classic improv actor) and son Hank (Will Sasso) work well together, especially with Hank begin mentally slow from huffing too much paint. One last standout character was Loretta (Allison Janney) best friend to Annette and Amber Adkins.
With all the girls going at each other and a lot of improv actors giving "A" material, the films does come off as jumbled/ random thinking. The pageant as the backdrop was good, but it got lost with the characters. Next time the director should watch or just call Christopher Guest (director of Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman and A Mighty Wind, which he also acted in. Also he played Nigel from This is Spinal Tap, a King of a film in the art of Mockumentaries) It definitely would have helped.
Final film tidbit, the character, Jean Kangas the silent third judge is played by the writer of the film Lona Williams, an actual pageant contestant at one time and came up first runner-up.
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards, Ellen Barkin and Kirstie Alley
Directed by: Michael Patrick Jann
Budget/Gross: $10,000,000(estimated)/ $10,561,238
IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
Tomatometer: 45% critics and 66% audience liked it
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