a movie that ages better than you think

Almost 22 years have passed (April 20, 2001) since the premiere of Miss Congenialitya film starring Sandra Bullock that became the highlight of her career (at least for the millennials and centennials). The reason? The movie of Mark Lawrence, Katie Ford and Caryn Lucas offers great doses of comedy combined with a rather peculiar perspective on women.

A macho woman + “pure feminism”

In this humorous film, Bullock plays Gracie Hart, an FBI agent who along with other officers investigate a possible attack on the Miss United States pageant, so against all her ideals she ends up pretending to be a participant. It is right in the middle of that speech that the character shows herself as a macho womanwho (on the surface) considers beauty queens to be women who don’t think about anything other than their aesthetics.

In this way, in the midst of fun moments and enjoyable rhythms, the plot manages unconsciously for the viewer, a message that refutes the idea that “being a feminist is the opposite of being feminine“, as Ketty Analfer scrutinizes; and that is the central point of the story, by showing a group of women who, beyond being physically beautiful, also enjoy talents in the arts, high-level academic studies, and Critical thinking about global issues (yes, many and many of us want “world peace”).

And the thing does not stop there, since during half of the film Cheryl, the character of Heather Burnsmakes a statement about a sexual abuse by a teacher, a subject that is not entirely common to deal with in comedy films; same case with the statement on the lesbian pride that actress Melissa De Sousa screams (literally) during the final stretch of the film.

Miss Congeniality’s main flaw

Despite the great work done during 1 hour and 40 minutes, the film completely changes its particular nature to offer an unattractive ending to a love relationship between Hart and his colleague Erick (Benjamin Bratt), giving it the appearance of being a romantic comedy that shouldn’t be, since the main message is the self-discovery of a woman who refused to see herself as such.

Miss Congeniality is available on HBO Max. @mundiario

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