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"'Drop
Dead' Almost Gorgeous" by Scott Mantz
"Drop Dead Gorgeous"
Kirsten
Dunst, Denise Richards, Kirstey Alley, Ellen Barkin
Directed by Michael Patrick Jann
These days tasteless
humor in film is at an all-time high. The ultimate in guilty pleasures,
it gives us a chance to laugh at touchy issues without feeling guilty
about it. We're under so much pressure to be politically correct
that we embrace those moments when we can let our guard down. The
box office receipts of recent films like "There's Something about
Mary", "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" and "American Pie"
prove this point.
Take this element
and put it in a "mockumentary" format, and the result is the funny
and satirical "Drop Dead Gorgeous". While this film doesn't reach
the heights of similar mock-predecessors "This is Spinal Tap", "Bob
Roberts", and "Waiting For Guffman", there are enough jibes at such
politically in-correct topics like religion, eating disorders, and
mental illness to leave you laughing out loud. From trailer parks
to the NRA, every stereotype imaginable is magnified to the extreme.
While filming
the Miss Teen Princess Pageant in Mount Rose, Minnesota, a film
crew also captures the behind-the-scenes backstabbing and ruthlessness
of the event. Amber (Kirsten Dunst) and Becky (Denise Richards)
are rivals from opposite sides of the fence competing with a handful
of other quirky teens for the crown. While the poor Amber has nothing
but good intentions, the bitchy and beautiful Becky, who will stop
at nothing to win, has her ace in the hole. Her mother (Kirstey
Alley) is the pageant administrator and a former winner herself.
Constructive
competition takes a deadly turn. One of the contestants is killed
when her favorite tractor explodes. Another is killed when a stage
light crashes on her head. It seems obvious who the culprit is,
but Amber backs out of the pageant when her life is threatened.
Only with the support of her trailer park, chain-smoking mother
(Ellen Barkin) does she decide to stay to the very bitter end.
Richards is
excellent as the spoiled, gun-packing Becky, solidifying the traits
she developed in last year's "Wild Things". Her beauty is hypnotic
when she flashes that gorgeous smile, but you know she is up to
no good. As her mother, Kirstey Alley seems like she could have
been plucked right out of "Fargo". As Amber, Kirtsen Dunst is the
lone flower in this town of weeds. While she is not naÔve, she stays
the only sympathetic character throughout the film.
There's something
to offend everybody. One of the judges is just in it for the thrill
of watching the young girls dance around half-naked. Another spends
more time beating up his way-overweight, mentally challenged son
than judging the pageant. When the locals aren't inquiring if the
film crew is from "Cops", they're busy making sexual advances at
them. The previous year's anorexic winner is rolled out on a wheelchair
to pass the crown to the new winner. Finally, in a hilariously balsphemous
scene, Becky performs her dance number with a stuffed Jesus on a
Crucifix.
The problem
is that the film runs a tad bit too long. Instead of ending with
the teen pageant, we follow the winner (who shall remain nameless)
to the national finals. By this time, the jokes wear thin and you
wonder where the film is going. By leaving its very dysfunctional
surroundings, the film loses some of its bite. But these are minor
squabbles, since the film is so rudely funny.
Unfortunately,
"Gorgeous" is lost in a very crowded summer. It doesn't have enough
star power to compete with the films of Kubrick and Lucas, but it
could have a strong cult following on video and cable. And so it
should. It may not always pay off, but when it does, you can't help
but feel so guilty about what you're laughing at that you just want
to, well, drop dead.
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