I stole Satan’s Panties!! (Miss Congeniality (DVD))

Member Name: star500

Product:	Miss Congeniality (DVD)
Date:	15/04/01 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny and enjoyable

Disadvantages: A bit predictable but still a good laugh

Unpolished. Unkempt. Unleashed. Undercover.

These words, taken from the film’s poster, describe perfectly the character which Sandra Bullock plays in the film which should get her Hollywood career back on track.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Bullock plays Gracie Hart, an agent with the FBI and probably one of the least feminine women that you are ever likely to meet. She doesn’t brush her hair, eats like a slob, acts like one of the guys and doesn’t own a dress. But she’s tough, loves her job and is well liked by the rest of her fellow, male agents although they don’t seem to regard her as being in any way female at all.

When the FBI discovers that there is an attack planned on the Miss USA Beauty Pageant, they need to find a way to stop it, protect the competitors and catch the criminal. The best plan they can come up with is to set up surveillance at the event and have an undercover agent pose as a contestant. It doesn’t take much to guess who gets the job of being the beauty queen wannabee although the FBI have a lot of work on their hands transforming Gracie Hart the slob into Gracie Lou Freebush - Miss New Jersey.

They enlist the help of Victor Melling (Michael Caine), beauty pageant extraordinaire, who has 48 hours to produce a convincing contestant so that neither the other competitors or the attacker will be alerted to the FBI’s presence. Of course, this makes hilarious viewing as the clumsy Gracie tries to be elegant, graceful, wear make-up and parade around in a bikini.

To say any more would definitely spoil the rest of the film so if you want to know just how convincing Gracie is or if they catch the criminal, then I’m afraid you’ll have to watch it yourself to find out.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this film although I’m sure that many of you will find it a bit predictable as it is a classic "Ugly duckling to be
autiful swan" story. However, Bullock really brings the character to life and is perfectly suited to the role as is Michael Caine playing the gay Victor Melling who does his utmost to transform Gracie into a beauty queen.

One actress who also deserves a mention is Heather Burns who plays the stereotypical beauty queen contestant Miss Rhode Island. She befriends Gracie and contributes to some of the funniest scenes in the film. Her confession to stealing Satan’s Panties had me in stitches and her favourite date was somewhat unusual to say the least.

This may not be an Oscar winning film but it gets my vote for being hilariously funny and very enjoyable. Although it is most definitely a "chick flick", I suspect that many guys would find it enjoyable probably due to Bullock and the rest of the contestants posing in bikinis and swimsuits. For the female viewers, the male "hunk" in the film is Benjamin Bratt who plays fellow FBI agent Eric Matthews and the guy who suggested Gracie for the role as undercover beauty queen.

So if you’re looking for a film to cheer you up and one that you can just sit back and enjoy without thinking too much about it, then Miss Congeniality might just be the right choice for you. It has a twelve certificate and thus is suitable for younger teenagers who will most probably enjoy it as much as I did.

And remember: Don’t mess with an agent in a dress!

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