MISS CONGENIALITY 2

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: innuendo, cross-dressing

Rated:

We all remember Gracie Hart, the no-nonsense FBI agent forced into a bikini to go undercover at the Miss United States Pageant. It has been three weeks since the case closed. Gracie (Sandra Bullock) has been finding life difficult since her face was plastered across every television screen in the nation. Complete strangers recognize her on simple bust jobs, placing civilians and other agents in peril. In the wake of this newfound popularity, her boss wants to put her forward as the "new face of the FBI" to generate positive publicity. After being unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend, Gracie agrees to the job, just to make him jealous and prove that she's moving on with her life.

New to the agency is Sam Fuller (Regina King), a tough street agent with anger management problems. She's been transferred from another branch because she's impossible to work with. Not knowing where else to put her, the boss assigns her to be Gracie's bodyguard. The two are constantly at odds, their tempers violently clashing in a free-for-all, while on tour to Oprah and other interested venues. In the midst of this comes a cooked-up scheme by a couple of Arizona bad boy biker punks, who kidnap Miss United States winner Cheryl (Heather Burns) and her associate, Stan Fields (William Shatner). Once Gracie learns that her best friend is being held for a million dollar ransom, she leaves her tour circuit and book signings with the intention of getting down and dirty on the job. Higher powers in the agency have other ideas. Gracie is best suited in heels, or so they believe.

Faced with the New Orleans branch of the FBI and its tyrannical, chauvinistic director Collins (Treat Williams), Gracie teams up with unlikely co-conspirators in an effort to save Cheryl's life. Along the way are notorious hijacks, witty puns, humorous anecdotes, and a few outrageous twists of fate. Fans liked the original because it was quirky and an unlikely candidate for a girl power movie: a tomboy agent forced to become a beauty queen. The sequel keeps up the consistency that is Gracie Hart, only now she wears lip gloss and isn't as likely to head-knock you. The best thing about the sequel is the presence of Sam. Antagonistic and with a chip on her shoulder the size of some small cities, she and Gracie are so mismatched that you just know before the end they'll be the best of friends. The plot wasn't cheap and while some corny gags are used, overall it's fun that mothers and daughters will find enjoyable.

While language is significantly lighter than the first installment, the film still relies on sexual gags for some of its humor. When Gracie is dumped over the phone, she asks if it's the sex. Her stylist is openly gay, complete with pink bow ties and elation at the idea of cross-dressing. There are a couple instances of openly sexual humor involving brief mention of body parts. Audiences won't be comfortable with the film's climax, which takes place in a transvestite bar. Men dressed up pretending to be famous female celebrities. (Gracie's designer dresses up in a go-go girl outfit and has the time of his life. Numerous gay performers are seen in the background.) Some of Gracie's outfits are rather scant. A running gag involves adjusting Gracie's fake old-woman breasts. Chasing down what she believes to be a suspect in the case, Gracie pokes the woman's breasts, only then realizing that they're not fake, and she's attacking the real Dolly Pardon. Desperate to get away from agency watchdogs, Gracie gives a magnificent spiel about having just started her monthly, and needing to go get tampons.

Miss Congeniality 2 isn't your average cheap attempt to cash in on the original. It actually has a good plot and seriously funny sequences. The heroine encourages others to be who they are, after realizing that life isn't about getting people back, or pretending to be okay when you're not, it's about figuring out who you are and moving on. She even turns over a new leaf and discovers that fame is overrated. Sam ultimately is confronted with her issues and comes to grips with them, and even the head director gets his come-uppance in the end. I wasn't too happy with the drag bar sequence, but overall the film has a lot of Hart to it.