Miss Congeniality (2000)

An F.B.I. Agent must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event.

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writers:

Marc Lawrence, Katie Ford

Stars:

Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandra Bullock	...	Gracie Hart
Michael Caine	...	Victor Melling
Benjamin Bratt	...	Eric Matthews
Candice Bergen	...	Kathy Morningside
William Shatner	...	Stan Fields
Ernie Hudson	...	Harry McDonald
John DiResta	...	Agent Clonsky
Heather Burns	...	Cheryl Frasier - Miss Rhode Island
Melissa De Sousa	...	Karen Krantz - Miss New York
Steve Monroe	...	Frank Tobin
Deirdre Quinn	...	Mary Jo Wright - Miss Texas
Wendy Raquel Robinson	...	Leslie Davis - Miss California
Asia De Marcos	...	Alana Krewson - Miss Hawaii
Ken Thomas	...	Agent Harris
Gabriel Folse	...	Agent Jerry Grant

Storyline

Undercover F.B.I. Agent Gracie Hart shows no signs of having any femininity in her demeanor or appearance. Generally a bright and capable Agent, she is in trouble at work when she makes an error in judgment in a case which results in a near disaster. As such, one of her by-the-books colleagues, Eric Matthews, who has never shown any inclination of thinking outside the box, is assigned to lead the high profile case of a terrorist coined The Citizen instead of her, while she is facing possible disciplinary action. Gracie pieces together the evidence to determine that The Citizen's next target will be the Miss United States beauty pageant. The pageant represents everything that Gracie abhors. Despite Gracie's mannish demeanor, Eric, with no other undercover female Agent remotely fitting the demographic, assigns her to go undercover as a pageant contestant to see if she can flush out The Citizen, who is perhaps one of the other contestants. Although the pageant administration, led by ...

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | villainess | good versus evil | evil woman | deception | 

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Taglines:

She's Got A Killer To Catch... Right After The Swimsuit Competition.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual references and a scene of violence

Details

Official Sites:

Castle Rock Warner Bros. (UK)

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian French Hawaiian Spanish

Release Date:

22 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miss Undercover

Filming Locations:

Austin Studios - 1901 E. 51st Street, Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,853,686, 25 December 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$106,807,667, 13 May 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$212,742,720

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment,Village Roadshow Pictures,NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the opening premiere of the movie, when Sandra Bullock got out of her car, she actually did trip and fall down just like her character does a few times in the movie. After watching the movie, many attendants thought Bullock actually staged her tripping out of her car.

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Goofs

When Vic is packing to leave the hotel, Gracie rummages through the make-up scattered on the table, yet in the following close-up the make-up is arranged differently and the upright lipstick suddenly appears. Also, when Vic walks out of the bathroom, in the close-up he's already way past the doorway, yet in the wide shot he's just coming out of the doorway.

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Quotes

Stan Fields: Miss Rhode Island, please describe your idea of a perfect date.
Cheryl "Rhode Island": That's a tough one. I'd have to say April 25th. Because it's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.

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Connections

Spoofed in Minions (2015)

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Soundtracks

Let's Get It On
Written by John Barratt, Martin Neary, Jason Barron, and Michael Neilson
Performed by Red Venom
Courtesy of All Around The World Records

User Reviews

Excellent comedy kept me laughing all the way through.

This is an excellent comedy which kept me laughing all the way through consistently without the flat patches you often get in longer comedies.

The premise is not so unusual with Sandra Bullock playing an ugly duckling/Pygmalion turning into a swan, however, the performances, especially by Bullock, Caine, Shatner and Bergen make the film.

Bullock stars as the never been loved tomboy of the FBI who has to dump her coarse manners and unkempt appearance in order to go undercover at a beauty pageant. Michael Caine is the Dr Higgins figure grooming her for stardom. Shatner plays Shatner, and Bergen is the matron of the Pageant. Benjamin Bratt plays the love interest !

Bullock is excellent all the way through from uncouth to gorgeous, and is particularly stunning in her transformed self. Caine is also excellent and the interplay between these 2 and the cast in general makes for a lively pace all the way through, til the final crowning ceremony.

A thoroughly entertaining film and well worth seeing.