Smile (1975)

It's time again for California's "Young American Miss" beauty pageant, the biggest event of the year for Big Bob Freelander and Brenda DiCarlo, who give their all to put on a successful ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer:

Jerry Belson

Stars:

Bruce Dern, Barbara Feldon, Michael Kidd

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Dern	...	Big Bob
Barbara Feldon	...	Brenda
Michael Kidd	...	Tommy
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Wilson
Eric Shea	...	Little Bob
Nicholas Pryor	...	Andy
Titos Vandis	...	Emile
Paul Benedict	...	Orren Brooks
William Traylor	...	Ray Brandy
Dennis Dugan	...	Logan
Dick McGarvin	...	Ted Farley
Adam Reed	...	Freddy
Kate Sarchet	...	Judy - Young American Miss
Brad Thompson	...	Chuck
George Wyner	...	Man at Party

Storyline

It's time again for California's "Young American Miss" beauty pageant, the biggest event of the year for Big Bob Freelander and Brenda DiCarlo, who give their all to put on a successful pageant. But Brenda is having marital difficulties and Bob's son is up to some mischief. Could this year's pageant be in jeopardy?

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Plot Keywords:

beauty pageant | choreographer | dysfunctional marriage | tv dinner | talent contest | 

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Taglines:

Raised on hamburgers and soda pop, She's got a winning smile that's hard to top. A credit to her family, the ideal teen, She's America's daughter, she's a beauty queen.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lauter nette Mädchen

Filming Locations:

Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

David V. Picker Productions, Twin Roads Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Neil Sedaka is credited on-screen for being "heard through the courtesy of Polydor International/Rocket Records," he is not mentioned in the soundtrack listing or anywhere else in the print. This is because his song, "Yes Sir! That's My Baby" is incorrectly credited to Michael Chain

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Goofs

When Robin is playing the flute, she takes a breath while the flute sound continues.

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Quotes

Tommy French: Kick and Bend. Kick and Bend. No dear, if you kick and bend at the same time you're going to knock yourself out.

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Connections

References Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Second Hand Rose"
(1921)
Music by James F. Hanley
Lyrics by Grant Clarke

User Reviews

One of the funniest films I've ever seen

I recently saw this as part of the London National Film Theatre's retrospective of 1970s American film. I had no knowledge of it beforehand, but what a gem this is.

It's not just a comment on beauty pageants, it also takes an incisive look at 70s American home life in everyday small towns, while examining the need to belong and fit in.

Overall though, it's very very funny, displaying a humour that is never over-the-top or played for easy laughs. This is helped by good, fluid, natural-sounding dialogue from writer Jerry Belson, and solid acting from everyone, especially Bruce Dern, Michael Kidd and Annette O'Toole.

Other things I liked included the way that the girls are often shown as the dignified ones while the (mostly male) pageant organisers and other satellite characters are shown in the opposite light, an interesting take for a film you might think is going to send up the idea of the beauty pageant mercilessly and depict the girls as nothing more than bimbos. Also, the way it neatly side-steps our possible expectation of seeing leering, lascivious men drooling over fresh young girls. There is an element of this, but it's kept to a subtle level in order to make way for better observations and more effective humour.

I highly recommend this, and if you do see it, look out for the scene where Big Bob takes his son Little Bob - for reasons I shan't bother explaining - to see a psychiatrist. I laughed more than I have at anything else for quite some time.