Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) | Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards | Invaluable Parental Aid for Raising...

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) | Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards | Drop dead hilarious...

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Drop Dead Gorgeous...

	Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards New Line Home Video, 2000 average customer review:based on 202 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Subtle is not the word to describe Drop Dead Gorgeous, a mock documentary purporting to cover the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Teen America Beauty Pageant in Mount Rose, Minnesota. Ellen Barkin (Sea of Love) and Kirsten Dunst (Interview with a Vampire, Dick) are perfectly cast as a mother and daughter whose only ambition is to use the pageant to get out of their claustrophobic small-town lives. Opposing them are Denise Richards (Wild Things, Starship Troopers) and her mother, Kirstie Alley (Look Who's Talking), who just happens to be the pageant's organizer. The plot, which centers on contestants being murdered (mostly by flaming explosions), is clearly secondary to the backstage shenanigans and satirical portrayals of vanity, small-town corruption, and family dysfunction. There's not much suspense to the pageant itself, but Dunst is an endearing protagonist and along with the broad jokes are some excellent acting turns from the cast, particularly Barkin, Brittany Murphy (Clueless), Nora Dunn (a Saturday Night Live alumna), and the great character actress Allison Janney, who's played small roles in countless movies but finally gets a chance to shine as the supportive neighbor of Barkin and Dunst. In fact, for all the jokes and satirical jabs, in the end it's the characters' relationships that stay in your mind. A bonus: the soundtrack features a hard-rocking version of the theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, performed with cool aplomb by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. --Bret Fetzer

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Invaluable Parental Aid for Raising Daughters

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

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Drop dead hilarious...

In light of watching the disaster that was `Chalk' I decided to rewatch one of my all time favorite mockumentary's; `Drop Dead Gorgeous'. Now this is a film that got the whole `mocking' thing right, creating a hilarious exaggerated look at the world of beauty pageants. `Drop Dead Gorgeous' is a comedy that gets everything right, from the script (tight and hilarious) to the acting this film is a laugh-riot.

The movie revolves around a small town of Mount Rose Minnesota where the annual Sarah Rose Cosmetics Teen America Beauty Pageant is being held. A film crew is sent to cover the event and thus captures all the backstabbing, the malicious threats and the conniving on camera for the world to see. We are introduced to a few key characters, the most important of which is young Amber Atkins. Amber idolizes Diane Sawyer and dreams of leaving her small town in the dust. This beauty pageant may be her ticket. She's talented, sweet and charming, but she has some stiff competition; namely Becky Leeman. Becky is a spoiled brat who gets whatever she wants and wants everything. Her mother, Gladys Leeman, is just as spoiled and lives only for her daughter so it's only right that she stop at nothing to assure her daughter the victory.

The performances by the cast is just delicious comedic entertainment, especially of the leads. Kirsten Dunst continues to prove she has what it takes in this business, turning out one brilliant performance after another (how is it that she does not have an Oscar nomination yet?) and Denise Richards proves she's more than a hard body by developing her shallow character magnificently. It may not seem difficult to play someone that void of heart and soul but to pull it off and make it seem natural and not forced is difficult. The real standouts though are the two actresses who play the mothers, Ellen Barkin and Kirstie Alley. Barkin plays Annette Atkins, the beer loving trailer park living mother of young Amber. Annette only wants a bright future for her daughter, a future she never had and is adamant that she reach her goals. Kirstie plays Gladys, Becky's mother, and does so with such inferior magnetism that I give her best-in-show props for this performance. It is just so effortlessly hilarious, captivating and mesmerizing to watch. She nails this performance.

`Drop Dead Gorgeous' also boasts some nice performances by some up-and-coming actresses at the time. The magical Amy Adams (who gets double points for admitting to punching Dunst in the face on the set) may not have a huge role here, but as the spunky and ever popular Leslie Miller she proves that she can handle herself well in front of the camera. Here's to her landing a second Oscar nod next week. Brittany Murphy may be a household name now (although her career has kind of dwindled) but in 1999 she was not, and her turn as Lisa was definitely an eye catcher. The biggest breakout though was Allison Janney, you know, the spunky step-mom from `Juno'. In `Drop Dead Gorgeous' she plays the Atkins' trashy yet kind-hearted neighbor Loretta and steals every scene she's in. Pure comedic perfection.

From the hi-jinx between contestants to the absurd panel of judges (and of course there is the `tard with no pants) `Drop Dead Gorgeous' delivers the funny. It may be over the top and off the wall but it's still funny, there is no denying that.

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Most Smartest Movie Ever!

This movie made me laugh and I can watch it over and over and it never gets old.

If not the funniest movie I've ever seen,..........

.....it's too close to call. Outrageous and hysterical. This movie is not for the self righteous.

It WAS Funny

Drop Dead Gorgeous
Ok, I will be the first to admit that some scenes were in very poor taste, but that is typical of dark comedies.

I laughed out loud at Loretta's antics! She, being the quintessential "redneck," provided a lot of laughs, as did most of the characters. I loved the movie.

This is not a movie to be taken seriously, as some seem to do, it is a comical movie to enjoy. To those who were offened by it, the characters were portraying true-to-life characteristics of "real" people...I suppose one could say the movie was "mocking" racists, not condoning prejudice. Some people just don't get it...don't take the movie too seriously--after all, you aren't supposed to--and just relax and enjoy the comedy.

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