Miss Congeniality 2
Y
March 21, 2005
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Miss Congeniality 2."
Although it's poised to flex boxoffice muscle when it opens Thursday for Easter-weekend action, "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" is neither buff nor fabulous, the high concept more wearying than delightful on the second go-round. Even as agile a performer as Sandra Bullock seems to be straining here amid the repetitive jokes and muddled girl-power message.
Returning screenwriter Marc Lawrence finds a smart, logical hook back into the story of klutzy FBI agent Gracie Hart (Bullock) but merely leads her through familiar paces, the sequel's giddy potential unrealized. A sure sign of trouble: Even a Las Vegas chase scene involving Dolly Parton falls flat.
In the first installment (a Christmas 2000 hit), Hart went undercover as a contestant in the nationally televised Miss United States pageant, leaving one to wonder how she'd ever do undercover field work again. She can't -- but somehow the FBI needs a botched assignment to figure out the obvious. So at the urging of her boss (Ernie Hudson), Gracie the tomboy puts her newfound celebrity to work for the Bureau as "the new face of the FBI," a face adorned with false eyelashes and pink lip gloss. Guiding her through appearances with Regis is stylist Joel; in place of Michael Caine's nuanced image consultant we get Diedrich Bader's obvious, if likable, walking stereotype.
When Miss United States (Heather Burns, reprising her role as ultraearnest, homespun Cheryl) and pageant host Stan Fields (William Shatner, making the most of his brief screen time) are kidnapped in Nevada by not-quite-believable sibling thugs (Abraham Benrubi and Nick Offerman), Gracie jets into Vegas headquarters as the FBI's spokeswoman. Besides her hair-and-makeup people, her entourage includes a pugnacious pit bull of a reluctant bodyguard (Regina King).
That King's character is an agent named Sam Fuller is an odd and distracting nod to the tough-guy independent filmmaker amid this pic's formulaic plot turns, not to mention the pearls and Chanel suits. An hour into the film, when Gracie defies orders and goes undercover with Joel and Sam, a certain comic shtick kicks in, briefly. But mainly the proceedings feel as faux and eager to please as the Vegas renditions of Venice and New York. The inevitable drag extravaganza, though it's a shot of adrenaline, has an air of desperation about it.
When given the chance, Bullock and King are so good at showing the friendless little girls beneath their characters' grown-up swagger that it's a shame they have to spend so much time going mano a mano. And while it's hard to argue with the film's message of female self-reliance, "Congeniality 2" clearly revels in the dumb brawling, playing to some ill-defined middle with the notion that beating people up is cool -- or funny -- when girls do it.
Treat Williams is suitably bureaucratic as Gracie's FBI nemesis in Vegas, presiding over production designer Maher Ahmad's striking neon honeycomb of a situation room. Enrique Murciano makes an impression as a sympathetic, if somewhat slow on the uptake, Nevada agent.
With solid creative support, notably Deena Appel's costumes, helmer John Pasquin ("Joe Somebody") and DP Peter Menzies Jr. orchestrate the proceedings in a straight-ahead manner that works intermittently. But it also underscores the thinness of Lawrence's script, which can take the quips about designer latte and highlights only so far.
MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS
Warner Bros. Pictures
Castle Rock Entertainment, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures presents
a Fortis Films production
Credits:
Director: John Pasquin
Screenwriter: Marc Lawrence
Producers: Sandra Bullock, Marc Lawrence
Executive producers: Mary McLaglen, John Kirby, Bruce Berman
Director of photography: Peter Menzies Jr.
Production designer: Maher Ahmad
Co-producer: Gesine Bullock-Prado
Costume designer: Deena Appel
Editor: Garth Craven
Cast:
Gracie Hart: Sandra Bullock
Sam Fuller: Regina King
Jeff Foreman: Enrique Murciano
Stan Fields: William Shatner
McDonald: Ernie Hudson
Cheryl: Heather Burns
Joel: Diedrich Bader
Collins: Treat Williams
Lou Steele: Abraham Benrubi
Karl Steele: Nick Offerman
Carol Fields: Eileen Brennan
Regis Philbin, Dolly Parton
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 115 minutes
Although it's poised to flex boxoffice muscle when it opens Thursday for Easter-weekend action, "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" is neither buff nor fabulous, the high concept more wearying than delightful on the second go-round. Even as agile a performer as Sandra Bullock seems to be straining here amid the repetitive jokes and muddled girl-power message.
Returning screenwriter Marc Lawrence finds a smart, logical hook back into the story of klutzy FBI agent Gracie Hart (Bullock) but merely leads her through familiar paces, the sequel's giddy potential unrealized. A sure sign of trouble: Even a Las Vegas chase scene involving Dolly Parton falls flat.
In the first installment (a Christmas 2000 hit), Hart went undercover as a contestant in the nationally televised Miss United States pageant, leaving one to wonder how she'd ever do undercover field work again. She can't -- but somehow the FBI needs a botched assignment to figure out the obvious. So at the urging of her boss (Ernie Hudson), Gracie the tomboy puts her newfound celebrity to work for the Bureau as "the new face of the FBI," a face adorned with false eyelashes and pink lip gloss. Guiding her through appearances with Regis is stylist Joel; in place of Michael Caine's nuanced image consultant we get Diedrich Bader's obvious, if likable, walking stereotype.
When Miss United States (Heather Burns, reprising her role as ultraearnest, homespun Cheryl) and pageant host Stan Fields (William Shatner, making the most of his brief screen time) are kidnapped in Nevada by not-quite-believable sibling thugs (Abraham Benrubi and Nick Offerman), Gracie jets into Vegas headquarters as the FBI's spokeswoman. Besides her hair-and-makeup people, her entourage includes a pugnacious pit bull of a reluctant bodyguard (Regina King).
That King's character is an agent named Sam Fuller is an odd and distracting nod to the tough-guy independent filmmaker amid this pic's formulaic plot turns, not to mention the pearls and Chanel suits. An hour into the film, when Gracie defies orders and goes undercover with Joel and Sam, a certain comic shtick kicks in, briefly. But mainly the proceedings feel as faux and eager to please as the Vegas renditions of Venice and New York. The inevitable drag extravaganza, though it's a shot of adrenaline, has an air of desperation about it.
When given the chance, Bullock and King are so good at showing the friendless little girls beneath their characters' grown-up swagger that it's a shame they have to spend so much time going mano a mano. And while it's hard to argue with the film's message of female self-reliance, "Congeniality 2" clearly revels in the dumb brawling, playing to some ill-defined middle with the notion that beating people up is cool -- or funny -- when girls do it.
Treat Williams is suitably bureaucratic as Gracie's FBI nemesis in Vegas, presiding over production designer Maher Ahmad's striking neon honeycomb of a situation room. Enrique Murciano makes an impression as a sympathetic, if somewhat slow on the uptake, Nevada agent.
With solid creative support, notably Deena Appel's costumes, helmer John Pasquin ("Joe Somebody") and DP Peter Menzies Jr. orchestrate the proceedings in a straight-ahead manner that works intermittently. But it also underscores the thinness of Lawrence's script, which can take the quips about designer latte and highlights only so far.
MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS
Warner Bros. Pictures
Castle Rock Entertainment, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures presents
a Fortis Films production
Credits:
Director: John Pasquin
Screenwriter: Marc Lawrence
Producers: Sandra Bullock, Marc Lawrence
Executive producers: Mary McLaglen, John Kirby, Bruce Berman
Director of photography: Peter Menzies Jr.
Production designer: Maher Ahmad
Co-producer: Gesine Bullock-Prado
Costume designer: Deena Appel
Editor: Garth Craven
Cast:
Gracie Hart: Sandra Bullock
Sam Fuller: Regina King
Jeff Foreman: Enrique Murciano
Stan Fields: William Shatner
McDonald: Ernie Hudson
Cheryl: Heather Burns
Joel: Diedrich Bader
Collins: Treat Williams
Lou Steele: Abraham Benrubi
Karl Steele: Nick Offerman
Carol Fields: Eileen Brennan
Regis Philbin, Dolly Parton
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 115 minutes
Share on LinkedIn
