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 about to give crime fighting a makeover.

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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:

Arneson River Theater, San Antonio, 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

The character "Stan Fields" is a reference to William Shatner's Canadian heritage. "Stanfields" is a very famous Canadian brand of underwear, known for its long johns.

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Goofs

As a young girl in 1984 Gracie looks about 7 or 8. Later when the FBI agents are looking for someone to go undercover at the beauty contest they bring up Gracie's file on their computer screen. If you look at the box on the lower left side you will see her date of birth. She was born in 1968. In my reckoning that would make her 16 years old NOT 7 or 8.

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Quotes

Kathy Morningside: New Jersey, as you know, there are many who consider the Miss United States Pageant to be outdated and anti-feminist. What would you say to them?
Gracie Hart: Well, I would have to say - I used to be one of them. And then I came here and I realized that these women are smart, terrific people who are just trying to make a difference in the world. And we've become really good friends. I mean, I know we all secretly hope the other one will trip and fall on her face, and - wait a minute, I've already done that!...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in Austenland (2013)

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Soundtracks

None of Your Business
Written by Hurby Luv Bug Azor (as Herby Azor)
Performed by Salt-N-Pepa (as Salt 'N' Pepa)
Courtesy of London Records USA
under license from Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Bullock is totally winning, and wins this contest hands down. Worth it just for her!

Miss Congeniality (2000)

A funny plot full of clever hooks, and an amazing, charming, full on performance by Sandra Bullock make this movie really funny. And warm. And fun.

It would be a mistake and shame to expect more from it, and there are times where it gets a little too silly for its own good, including some of the last half hour. But what works, works, and the first hour of build up, and of Bullock's transformation (and her sparks of humor and authenticity through it all) are first rate. Michael Caine supports her as he supports everyone in the business, with class and finesse. Benjamin Bratt, playing a kind of distant love interest for Bullock's FBI agent cum beauty contestant, is a little to aware of his good looks and doesn't quite relax enough to make him a star.

He could learn a lot from Caine and Bullock, who are both consummate actors capable of saving, and even lifting up, a mostly routine production. For lightweight fare, it's a joy. By the way, the only "Miss United States" beauty pageant is an "on-line" contest, with a hefty entry fee, and seems to be a commercial and possibly exploitive tie-in to the movie. The famous (and infamous) national pageants are Miss America and Miss USA. This movie is meant to play off the stereotypes of what the contestants are often like, and it provides for some pretty good fodder.