Drop Dead Gorgeous
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Movie Reviews of Drop Dead Gorgeous
Movie Review: Bring Out the Young Girls, er, Contestants!
Summary: 5 Stars
Drop Dead Gorgeous is absolutely one of the funniest movies I can remember, yet it barely made a blip on the radar in theatres back in the summer of 99. Well, my cousin recommended it to me and after one rental, it was a must buy. As others have mentioned, Drop Dead Gorgeous is a mockumentary of the Sarah Rose Cosmetics American Teen Princess pageant. The small town of Mount Rose, Minnesota will never be the same!
The casting of this movie is absolutely perfect. There is not a weak line or scene in the film. Kirstie Alley is wonderful as Gladys Leeman and Denise Richards is the lovely Rebecca Ann Leeman. Some of the most wickedly funny lines and scenes come from these two. Our poor little underdogs of the trailer park are Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst) and her mother (Ellen Barkin). The talented Amber doesn't have a chance since the pageant is rigged by the wealthy Leemans - but she'll keep trying!
Some of the best scenes, however, come from the numerous supporting actors and actresses. Especially memorable are the various girls competing in the pageant - every town has them - the trashy one, the one who likes dogs, the female athlete, the artsy one, all the girls you went to high school with. Also unforgettable especially is Alison Janney who provides Amber with moral support through the movie and provides much needed comic relief even in the most serious of scenes!
Of course, what would be a pageant without a pervert? One of the judges is quite excited about being selected as a judge and enjoys every move the girls make. "I guess we should bring out the young girls, er, contestants".
Despite the wicked humor, you grow to love Amber Atkins and her spirit to triumph against the Lemans' empire of tyranny in Mount Rose. After all, as Amber says "Guys get out of Mount Rose all the time - hockey scholarships, prison". You'll be rooting for Amber and laughing through every dark and wicked joke. If you missed Drop Dead Gorgeous, pick it up and tell a friend.
Movie Review: Something lutefisky
Summary: 5 Stars
Among the local color that you'll learn of in this film is that "lutefisk" is codfish that has been salted and then soaked in lye for several days. And that's only the beginning of all the things fishy or should I say fisky in the little town that is the site of a beauty pageant. The way the pageant goes is a no-holds-barred biting satire that makes this one of the most fun dark comedies in years. But even without all the twists and tweaks and mayhem of the unfolding story there's plenty of riotous humor as well as drama in the contestants themselves. Kirsten Dunst is fabulous as the lead and the town's one resident playing it - well, relatively straight - amidst the lunacy all around her. Her potential as an actress is well showcased in this, the zenith of her career so far. One can only hope to see her acting further blossom. Hopeful it can if she can graduate beyond being stuck in the likes of BRING IT ON, GET OVER IT, and CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL. The other contestants include a colorful array of characters, including Denise Richards, representing the town's snobbiest family, and Brittany Murphy, who was soon after this movie to play the unforgettable Daisy in GIRL, INTERRUPTED. Between thaT role and her role herein, she shows noteworthy diversity as a performer. Also among the contestants are a few actresses I know of only from this movie, but who therein give good reason to wish to see more of them and see their potential further developed. These include Amy Adams as the quintessential "airhead" among the contestants, and Shannon Nelson as a riotously offbeat distant contender. Her story of how she formerly had a German Shepherd but now has a Dachshund is among the zaniest moments one could ask for from a movie's minor chracter. Among still other hoots are the Japanese adaptive parents of still another contestant. Well, enough said by way of preview. Watch and enjoy a movie that is not short on drama and suspense while being above all devastatingly funny.Movie Review: Great Satire
Summary: 5 Stars
The film is a humorous look at a beauty pagent in small town america. You follow each contestant around and learn about their lives and what promoted them the enter the Mount Rose American Teen Princess pagent. Many people do not understand the humor in this film. Somehow this misunderstanding makes them see this movie as offensive but it is quite funny with proper perspective. I have found that people who never lived in a small town have a hard time understanding alot of jokes in this movie. Lines such as "I'm a lifer here" or "Guys get out of Mount Rose all the time". To someone who has always lived in a metropolitan area you might not fully comprehend what they are saying. However, if you have lived in a small town you know that half of the people cannot wait until they can get out of there. So, offensive to some.. side splitting humor to others. When put in perspective it cannot be taken any way other than its intent, to be funny. I am originally from rural Ohio and totally understand every joke they made about small town life. Most of them were spot on. So, before those who have never lived it pass judgement be sure to put the movie in the proper context. This movie is a true gem and will make anyone laugh because you don't know those people and make you laugh because you actually do know those peopleMovie Review: Drop Dead Hilarious!
Summary: 5 Stars
Drop Dead Gorgeous has been a favorite of mine for years now. I can't even believe how underappreciated this movie was! For shame! It is filmed in the style of a documentary, but it's not real. But the documentary style makes it so different from the same old stuff we see over and over. Throughout the movie, we follow the lives of the girls of Mount Rose as they enter a beauty pageant. Kirsten Dunst is absolutely amazing in this movie. Other incredible performances are given by Ellen Barkin as Kirsten Dunst's white trash mom ("Bring me my smokes!"). You can't help but root for Kirsten's character the entire time, despite you'll love to hate Denise Richards as the daughter of Kirstie Alley, who is in charge of the pageant this year and wants her daughter to win.
This is a movie not to miss, and at the price they're advertising it for, you seriously can't go wrong. It is darkly funny and the way to the crown is paved with death. Drop Dead Gorgeous is one of my absolute all-time favorites. I forced friends of mine who'd never heard of it to watch it and every one of them couldn't believe they'd been missing out on it this whole time. It's a wonderfully hilarious and intelligent dark comedy. You'll LOVE it!
Movie Review: Invaluable Parental Aid for Raising Daughters
Summary: 5 Stars
You've read the plot synopsis and you probably know that Drop Dead Gorgeous is Drop Dead Funny. One of the things that makes it work is that the cast almost never winks at the audience. There's hardly a clue that this is an over-the-top parody.
This deadpan quality is what made it such a great daughter-rearing aid. When our child was about the age when lipstick starts to supplant funny face painting, we got this video. (I wish I could say that we planned its introduction into her life, but it was really just dumb luck.) We played it and we all laughed. Gradually, whenever one of our daughter's friends or relatives went a little hyper-fem, we could all remember a scene or a line from the movie. All it took was one of us to say 'oh, that's drop dead gorgeous' and whatever super-serious beauty moment was going on would be doused with our laughing. I'm glad to say that the kid in question is now an almost-grown woman with a good head on her shoulders.
A fringe benefit was that we got to enjoy the fabulous job that Kirsti Allie did as the maniacal beauty-queen-mom.
Lynn Hoffman, author of the invaluable bang BANG: A Novel and the tasty New Short Course in Wine,The