Sandra Bullock stars in this 2000 comedy-thriller as a rookie FBI agent who goes undercover at a beauty contest. Bullock plays the hapless Gracie Hart, who is ordered by her boss (Ernie Hudson) to ditch her drab clothes and dowdy look and "glam-up" for an undercover assignment at the Miss United States beauty pageant. Michael Caine is on hand to get the scatty Gracie a makeover and turn her into a plausible "bikini-stuffer". Apparently realising a long-held ambition to work with Bullock, Caine delivers one of his more nuanced comic cameos of recent times.
As Gracie works the case, befriending some of her fellow contestants, and getting in and out of scrapes, she starts to fall for her team leader (Ben Bratt) while also coming to realise the pageant organisers (Candice Bergen and William Shatner) might not be quite what they say they are.
Miss Congeniality is very much Bullock's movie and, with pratfalls and sight gags aplenty, she doesn't disappoint. Her undeniable screen presence and relish for broad comedy make for a funny and heart-warming film. The film was such a success that Bullock, who also produced the film, went on to reprise the role in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous.
Miss Congeniality is a Film programme that first aired in 2000 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
