Miss Congeniality parents guide

Miss Congeniality Parent Guide

Overall C+

When the FBI discovers a terrorist killer has set his sites on The Miss America Beauty Pageant, they have to find a female agent to infiltrate the event. Unfortunately, the awkward and unfeminine Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is the best they can do.

Violence C
Sexual Content C
Profanity C+
Substance Use C+

Why is Miss Congeniality rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Miss Congeniality PG-13 for sexual references and a scene of violence.

Parent Movie Review

The FBI has finally cracked the most recent coded threat from the “Citizen”, a terrorist killer they have been trying to track. Discovering the Miss United States Pageant will be the next target; the bureau must find a way to infiltrate the contest with one of their own. That won’t be easy considering most of their agents are male and what few female candidates they have, aren’t “pageant material.”

Miss Congeniality - Official site Narrowing the search by judging who would look best in a swimsuit, their only choice is Special Agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock), who is desperate to show-off her abilities after botching up her last undercover job. Determined to turn Gracie into a princess, Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt), head of the operation, hires consultant Victor Melling (Michael Caine), a homosexual now shunned by the pageant community because of the harsh tactics he has used to make winners out of ho-hum contestants.

Miss Congeniality - Official site Calling her “Dirty Harriet,” and claiming she hasn’t “a detectable smidgen of estrogen,” Victor attempts to turn the tomboy Gracie into the perfect contestant. This provides many opportunities for Bullock to use her physical clowning skills with some truly funny results. It also gives the movie plenty of opportunities to include sexual innuendo, shots of women dressing (no explicit nudity) or adjusting their bras, while male agents peep at them through a surveillance camera.

Miss Congeniality - Official site With the exception of Bullock and William Shatner, who plays the pageant’s hip but slightly out of date Master of Ceremonies, the rest of this movie comes off tired and disorganized. And the developing romance between Eric and Gracie is never believable, perhaps due to Bratt’s less than charming performance or Bullock’s ability to convince us she really is one of the guys. Even Candice Bergen fails in her portrayal as the grueling pageant taskmistress, sounding more like Cruella DeVil than a believable entity in charge of a major franchise.

Full of typecast homosexuals, cops, and beauty contestants, as well as moderate profanities, terms of Deity used as expletives, and violence (including a shooting), the film may miss the congeniality family viewers are seeking.

Starring sandra bullock william shatner. Updated

Miss Congeniality Parents' Guide

What is the purpose of beauty Pageants? Are they really about intellect, talent, poise, or beauty? Why is it so important to look good in a swimsuit? What do you think motivates young women to enter this kind of contest?

Near the beginning of this movie, the head of the pageant says that the winners have already been picked, even though the event hasn’t started. Do you think this really happens?

Home Video

Related home video titles:

For other movies that belittle the beauty pageant world, check out Drop Dead Gorgeous , For another tale about a plain girl made fancy, check out Ever After .