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IMDb > Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
Drop Dead Gorgeous
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Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   14,881 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writer (WGA):
Lona Williams (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Drop Dead Gorgeous on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 July 1999 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy more
Tagline:
The battle between the good and the bad is bound to get ugly.
Plot:
In a small Minnesota town, the annual beauty pageant is being covered by a TV crew. Former winner Gladys... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Intelligent, witty and biting dark satire more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Dairy Queens (USA) (working title)
Gnadenlos schön (Germany)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for irreverent and crude humor, sex-related material and language.
Runtime:
97 min
Country:
USA | Germany
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The mall parking lot Gladys' pulls into to pick up the dresses is Eden Prairie Center in Eden Prairie (not the Mall of America), the same mall that was used in Mallrats (1995) more
Goofs:
Continuity: Harold rips John's clip-on tie off. He also pops the third button down on his shirt. The camera cuts away and quickly pans back to John where the shirt is mysteriously re-buttoned. more
Quotes:
Lester Leeman: Beautiful as a whore's ass today, huh, boys? more
Movie Connections:
Spoofs America's Junior Miss Pageant (1994) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Lost Picasso more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
38 out of 40 people found the following comment useful:-
Intelligent, witty and biting dark satire, 16 July 2004
8/10
Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Drop Dead Gorgeous is a film about a teenage beauty pageant. As you might expect; it features plenty of young girls in skimpy outfits, dancing, singing and all that crap. However, unlike a lot of films of the same ilk; here, hidden behind a facade of teen beauty and all the other trademarks of the teen comedy genre, is an intelligently written, witty and very dark satire on the consumer society.

Drop Dead Gorgeous is a filmed in the style of a documentary, a la 'This is Spinal Tap' and follows the escapades of a group of contenders in the annual beauty pageant. The contenders are introduced via a very amusing sequence, which sees them tell the audience about themselves. It's very MTV in the way it's done, with all the girls introducing themselves as shallow, fussy, typical teenage girls. After that, the film starts to set its dark tone, with one of the girls being blown up, and is the tone that will be carried throughout the rest of the movie. Some of the humour in this movie is so dark that even I, a fan of very black comedy, couldn't decide whether to laugh at or not; a woman that gets a beer can melted to her hand, an anorexic previous winner, and the pageant winner being blown up on a huge float are all included in this movie. It's lighter and more tongue in cheek moments are also done very well, such as the part in which one of the judge's brothers gets caught in the car door, or a hilarious 'home video' of an explosion.

The characters in Drop Dead Gorgeous are all, with the exception of Amber Atkins, disagreeable, shallow and overblown stereotypes. This is one of this movie's main assets; it has the parodying of stereotypical people spot on; we've got an "I'm not a pervert" pervert judge, an insensitive, egotistical head of the richest family in town, the overenthusiastic boyfriend and many other colourful and amusing characters. Some of the lines said by these characters are priceless; stupid, but not overly stupid and you really could imagine people like these saying things like the characters in this film do.

The entire cast of this movie excels; it features a lot of small characters and each one plays their part to perfection. The main acting plaudits come for Kirsten Dunst in the starring role of Amber Atkins. Kirsten has the ability to act, and act well and she's also extremely good looking. Many actresses look good and can't act, or vice versa but Kirsten has both abilities, which makes her a very good lady to have in your film. With a few more hits under her belt; Kirsten may well be remembered as the finest actress of her generation. Two other stand out performances come from Kirstie Alley as the former winner of the pageant and mother of one of the contestants; and Ellen Barkin, who brings the characters of Amber's mother to life brilliantly.

Drop Dead Gorgeous is a film that will be overlooked by many because it's a teen comedy. This is a great injustice; here we have a film that is extremely funny, well acted and actually has something to say.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Amber Did It! phindar
what's up with becky's pits?????? sweetpea18209
DDG vs The Hangover vs Superbad dominodancing2007
favorite quotes mochito_ish
Puzzling behavior of Gladys Leeman (Kirstie Alley's character) jevicci
Hank's fragile emotional state Blackbird_singing
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