Uriah43
This film takes place in the small Minnesota town of "Mount Rose" where a teenage beauty pageant is about to be held. Although this pageant is held there every year what makes this one somewhat unique is the fact that the head of the pageant "Gladys Leeman" (Kirstie Allen) has her own daughter "Rebecca Leeman" (Denise Richards) as one of the contestants. To make matters even worse, Gladys is the wife of the richest man in the town and as a result she has a great deal of influence over the judges. Yet in spite of this the contest remains in doubt as there are a few young ladies who pose as obstacles to Rebecca's success. And it's then that they each start dying under mysterious circumstances one by one. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, although some of the humor was rather crude, the director (Michael Patrick Jann) and writer (Lona Williams) really managed to capture the hypocrisy and self-righteous bigotry of some of the people who happen to reside in small towns. Naturally, not all small towns are as bad as this film portrays and not all people are as shallow-minded as shown here either. But there is definitely a problem in some small towns and this film nails it really well. Be that as it may, I really liked the performance of Allison Janney (as "Loretta") who I thought was totally hilarious. Likewise, having several attractive actresses like Kirsten Dunst (as "Amber Atkins"), Amy Adams ("Leslie Miller") and the aforementioned Denise Richards certainly didn't hurt in any way either. All things considered then, I rate this movie as slightly above average and recommend it to those who might be interested in a satirical film of this type.
jlbornstein-442-849323
I often use this movie as a radar when I meet someone new. If they can't find a movie like this or Death to Smoochy remotely funny then we're probably going to make it as long time friends. To appreciate it, you definitely have to find amusement in 'so wrong its funny' type of situations. Great performances by Ellen Barken, Allison Janey, Kirstie Allie & the late Brittany Murphey. Kirsten Dunst's performance is very similar to her one from Bring it On but that's a type of humor not all performers can do. Blink and you'll miss Amy Adams in one of her first roles.Check it out! I dare you not to laugh!
Casey Dillard
Irreverent, fun and light. Not exactly a subtle jab at pageants, but a hilarious one. All the stereotypes you'd expect are there, but it doesn't keep them from being amusing at every turn. The talking heads in this movie are consistently excellent, as are the performances. Kirsten Dunst, Allison Janey, Denise Richards, Brittany Murphy and the rest of the cast do a wonderful job handling their consistently silly, but familiar characters. The film drags a bit towards its predictable (but not unsatisfying) ending, but the laughs it accumulates along the way give it the momentum required to push through. I'd recommend it to anyone.
copperncherrio
The Minnesota accent is fantastic and the details to humor is just brilliant. Granted not everyone in Minnesota sounds like that, but it is a far more of an accurate accent than the strong one in Fargo. It's fair to say this because I actually live 30 minutes from Minnesota. There's just so much going on in the background and as silly as everything is, you are really rooting for Dunst's character, even though the tone is so "Strictly Ballroom" (outrageous and sweet). The documentary style is perfect for this it brings out the charm and ugliness of the whole story.Honestly, I'm just surprised that this movie wasn't and isn't more popular. Or at least some sort of cult classic. I miss humor like this. I'd trade awkward silence to sweet satire any day. *Also I love Amy Adams in this film, from a Stripper to Enchanted princess... a girl can really dream.
AD
