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Show | WASATCH COUNTY COURIER JANUARY 3, 2001 Miss os kkk STARS 7 og | | ) ; : | B3 jiation.). The brattiest a the bunch is ‘agent Eric Matthews (appropriately played by Benjamin Bratt, familiar DIRECTED BY DONALD PETRIE. WRITTEN BY Al rom TV’s “Law and Order”), who | oe om < _ A | ia Sater rieltty chunks of the movie since the storyline fierce animosity towa rd both bullies thing realistically threatening or violent and wimps. She flattens a boy her Chae Faw ae a_ smaller kid, then decks the kid she’s rescued when he complains that s = , | he'll be blackballed for consorting goSe cate ae e ea | makes € Cards e I O ea aes Book le fs Items |d ea i Pee Searches Coffee Po | ] & ‘Teas Poe Morningside (Candice Bergen, in a less eee ‘Urs out ta be her son, are obviously up to no good, but neither seems capable of the mayhem that eventually ensues. _ What the movie is most convincing- — instinctively feminist consciousness of the Bullock character into the tradi- passionate FBI agent, dragged under-. tionally sexist surroundings of the FBI cover as Miss New Jersey at the Miss and fest — Your neighborhood book store. Located right in the heart of Heber Valley! een gap oars: ~ “A Store With Book Sense.” iE Eu fF te . 43 103 East vee € ie 5- 6 5 7- BOOK Utah #é Monday-Saturday, e ' 10 am—7 pm eee (where United States Pageant to root out a ter- lurks a closeted lesbian or two), and rorist who wants | how the two ways of _ the event as a stage | that (Heather Burns), at Fo i Gracie action But ae (characteristi- ¥ai cally) does some digging her Seqnences, Bullock’s | appeal o pies oe ‘Sandra Bullock in Miss Congenaity. won my heart early portrayal ‘of Gwen ‘bedrock:-and._ shean CMEPSES aS: endearingly character. eons | e ae eet ee ie 3 Herbal Teas & Honey a Naas Z | } ~ 4 20% discount for the entire month loopy Once Hart ; ; has been unmasked as an undercover Cummings, -the sad, funny alcoholic who ruins her sister’s wedding in 28 interloper, not only don’t her beauty _ queen: cohorts feel outraged or. Days and finds herself in court-ordered _ betrayed, they’re so pleased that someone has seen them as real people they rehab. It was a movie and a role that fancifully bestow their own. post-pagattracted distinctly mixed critical atten‘tion, but for the first time I noticed how © eant title on Gracie Hart’s congenial foray into the frothy headwaters of traskilled she is at playing the abrasive | loner who gets her kicks by challeng- s ditional femininity. The: film’s saving graces are ing authority. : ‘ While Bullock is an ohio looker, ; Bullock’s delight in discovering new parts of herself; Caine’s subtle and sarthe stringy-haired Gracie Hart is made castic turn as a cynical yet. civilized to appear harsh and graceless (hence craftsman and connoisseur of. well. her ironic first name) and is given an and William — turned-out women, exaggerated klutziness at the beginning of Miss Congeniality that-we rec- Shatner’s nicely underplayed role (ala ognize as an elaborate conceit. It takes Bert Parks) as the aging maitre d’ of Michael Caine as an over-the-hill but this smorgasbord of beauty—a male discard in a female game. still proud beauty consultant named At Salt Lake City’s Broadway Victor Melling to pull off a 48-hour miracle makeover and turn Hart | Theater, where I saw the movie, the _ title on the marquee had been changed into...well, back into Sandra Bullock. Her male FBI colleagues, are por- by someone with either an observant trayed as a bunch of bumptious chau- wit or a feminist flair (or both) to Ms. Congeniality. Had the filmmakers startvinists who Hart has to school in basic ed with this title themselves, they investigative techniques even though might have had a blueprint for a more she’s been exiled to desk duty for screwing up during a sting operations: - sharply satirical screenplay. As is, Miss _ that goes awry and injures one of her’ Congeniality is merely a trifle. But partners. (Hart rushes to perform the _ thanks to the bounteous talents of Ms. Heimlich on a hood who fakes asphyx- Bullock, it’ sa tasty one. ; a w al dflower eae icant Saturday, gee. “Se EES 3 ac a | your + valenaind! } | January 27, 10am-1lam ae ness. However, she | a ee . to get down to New England Cost. $45/person, 10 people Max Instructor: LouAnn Street, Designer ee EP Bartsee | Call 435.654.2721 7 ) saith to register | se Be = a dawned late on my Ji movie conscious-_ in 2000 in her : - first seems like such an airhead, the satire — seems wasted. facilitates her flair for other. “Miss Rhode Island Loquacious and style each - Gracie’s pageant pal, loose-limbed with a. tart tongue anda body . on a public = off st of “ooking at things rub reas rane series attacks. in a cate > another oe ce Sundance Film Festival - bee, in a film pc ticket stub tne for . oe of the The bit nicely sets up Bullock’s adult comedic persona as a savvy yet com-_ glamour or 4 dippy assistant (Steve Monroe), who a national = ps than substantial role) and Frank, her ly about is the introduction s 14 | ed = Pe Books eee ee : Unique Gift so little sense, and since any- Ga = Ee | | of the candy store inthe mall. That they're supposed to be looking | preteen with pigtails, glasses and a down ES | rs voyeuristic kids drooling at the window for a terrorist is forgotten for large is shaking 2. Paro 3 room inner sanctum, the male agents crowd around the monitor like _ (the Sandra Bullock character) as @ who ~ Y > £ ae re |e | Once she has penetrated the dressing gives us a glimpse of Gracie Hart own age CoE Se, | etn | _ Pre Ae a New Year! ore, Thank You He av alley yo oe es herself in the fabric of the pageant. brief prologue at the beginme -i, ae aati 4 ee ls appy _‘"ansmitter, Hart successfully embeds by Paul Swenson Review Christmas tems 0% off | ig & “Hla MARC LAWRENCE, KATIE FORD AND CARYN ~__ treats Hart like a disreputable kid sisLUCAS. STARRING SANDRA BULLOCK, _ter, an obvious tip-off that he will later MICHAEL CAINE, BENJAMIN BRATT, WILLIAM — find her overpoweringly attractive. _ SHATNER AND CANDICE BERGEN Armed with a tiny TV camera and \ -- } sh Ggeta free Sundance Farms soap gift ext Beas Hap Soe ere BS? pee oP oP Sas BES, aoa atge| owwnt 424, BSE by enema | — 435-654-2721 eS . = ea ee ee Re > 5 ——— www. sundancefarms. com a SECS): pee ‘ es ao ac See Se ake fe aa | __ 23 a he re lke 3303 West 2400 Charleston, Utah 84032 — | > aS ° 8 eee ee = pcre ae é ee ets, os “ek ¥ 2 ae ag oe: m : :. ai, SIF oS a Be ts oe > YS a 7 is |