Sandra Bullock has been working professionally since the 1980s. The adored actress has been in everything from high-profile action movies like Demolition Man and Speed to critically acclaimed movies like The Blind Side and Gravity. Despite having a nearly 60-film résumé, her best and most adored action movie may contain a…beauty pageant? In the movie Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock agreed to play a tough FBI agent who reluctantly goes undercover in the Miss United States Pageant to thwart a bomber. She initially has an unflattering, or at best, sympathetic, attitude toward the pageant and the girls, but she ultimately realizes that she is a beauty queen and that the other candidates have depth. You're in luck if you haven't loved seeing Bullock spoof Dustin Hoffman's "I'm walkin' here" over the past 22 years unless you've been living under a rock. Netflix currently offers the movie for streaming.The story of FBI Agent Gracie Hart, a tough, no-nonsense agent who lacks any sense of feminine appeal, is told in the film Miss Congeniality. She is the type of agent who devotes all of her time, energy, and mental capacity to her work while never focusing on herself. Hart is required to pose as a participant in order to get close to the others and defend them after the FBI receives information that the United States Miss America Pageant is threatened by a bomber. Sandra Bullock is joined by Benjamin Bratt as her partner, who makes fun of her challenging shift. Ernie Hudson portrays the supervising agent who is initially critical but ultimately helpful. The charming and slightly paternal pageant host is portrayed by William Shatner. Not to mention Michael Caine's amazing portrayal in which he attempted the unthinkable feat of transforming FBI Agent Grace Hart into the lovely and graceful Gracie.Although the movie never received rave reviews, Sandra Bullock nevertheless manages to connect with viewers. It might be her talent for turning a story into a lighthearted comedy when, in fewer hands, it would be a disaster of chauvinist unoriginality. Or it could be the ability to inhabit a persona that could have easily been completely unbelievable as a tough FBI agent, a beauty queen, or both. Whatever the case, fans cherished it enough to put up with decades of quoting and rewatches, even as reviewers failed to recognize the charm.Of course, Sandra Bullock wasn't the only one involved in making this movie. Although the success of Miss Congeniality largely rests on the shoulders of its lead actress, the rest of the cast also plays a significant role. Who could play a love interest convincingly enough that it didn't seem like they only became interested after she put on her two-piece swimsuit and all the makeup? In contrast to Bullock, Benjamin Bratt had a strong performance by being endearing enough to root for but not too endearing that he stole the show. William Shatner, who is most known for playing the brash and aggressive James T. Kirk, took on a completely different role as the host. His ability to appear totally in charge of a pageant that erupted all around him gave his career an extraordinary new depth. He might have even landed the lead role in Boston Legal, where he played a man who was similarly stupid and lost, because of his image.
Last but not least, any review of Miss Congeniality's great cast would be incomplete without mentioning Michael Caine's outstanding turn. Without a solid performance by the person tasked with transforming a rough mess of a person into someone who could advance to the beauty pageant finals, this movie would not have been possible. As he transformed Sandra Bullock's Gracie Hart into a completely different person, Caine managed to be both a strict coach and a father figure for her. Of course, we have the unavoidable impression that he wasn't acting at all. That is essentially who Michael Caine is, in our opinion.
Despite having a plot that is almost as absurd as her other action movie roles, Miss Congeniality had a charm that was hard not to adore. Could there be a more ridiculous idea than Demolition Man's cop being cryogenically preserved until his arch-enemy is let loose on the city? Sandra Bullock has demonstrated numerous times throughout her career that she possesses the charisma and versatility to transform a movie with a laugh-out-loud plot into the kind of movie that, 20 years later, still has audiences fumbling for the remote to turn it on.
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