Gracie: Sandra Bullock	Eric: Benjamin Bratt
Victor: Michael Caine	Stan Fields: William Shatner
FBI Officer MacDonald: Ernie Hudson	Miss California: Wendy Raquel Robinson
Kathy Morningside: Candice Bergen	Miss Rhode Island: Heather Burns
Miss New York: Melissa De Sousa	Miss Texas: Diedre Quinn
Young Gracie: Mary Ashleigh Green	Director: Donald Petrie

30 Second Bottom Line: A female FBI agent goes undercover in the Miss United States pageant to catch a terrorist planning an explosive surprise at the crowning event. A comedic look at what just might go on behind the scenes at beauty pageants.

Story Line: As a young girl on her school playground in New Jersey, Gracie (Mary Ashleigh Green) comes to the aid of a boy being picked on by school bullies because he is a nerd. She challenges the bullies and gets the better of them in the resulting fight. Gracie likes the boy she protects but he is angry because now his reputation is that he has to be shielded by a girl. He calls her a dork and he too gets punched out. Fast forward 20 years and we understand the reckless ways of Gracie (Sandra Bullock) as a FBI agent. She takes chances not only with her own life, but the lives of her fellow agents as well.

Due to a gross violation of procedure while on a raid, she is placed on administrative duty by FBI Officer MacDonald (Ernie Hudson). This creates the first opportunity for Eric (Benjamin Bratt) to lead his own team. With Gracie in the background, the men try to plan a response to another letter from a serial bomber. They are clueless as to what to do and Gracie gives them some pointers, which they are quick to take credit for. Someone will go undercover to replace Miss New Jersey, who will be disqualified because of making an X rated movie. Gracie is called into duty, as she's the only agent remotely close to looking like a beauty contestant.

Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen) has been director of the pageant for 21 years, and from her viewpoint it's a scholarship fund and not a beauty contest. Her sidekick is announcer Stan Fields (William Shatner), and we learn that both are about to be fired after this year's contest is concluded. That provides motive for someone other than the serial bomber to disrupt the beauty event.

Before Gracie can enter the contest, she needs a make over in the worse way. Kathy calls upon a "has been" beauty consultant, Victor (Michael Caine), to work with her. He reluctantly does so and with a team of assistants, takes a person who does not own a dress, has a tattoo on her behind and a punching bag in her apartment and transforms her into a beautiful woman. She may look the part but her table manners, speech and walk, prove she is still a klutz.

Tell Me More About It: This may be two hits in a row for Bullock; this one and 28 Days. I was expecting less but next time I'll raise my expectations. After the disastrous Forces of Nature and Speed 2 it appeared that we had seen the best of her, but such is not the case.

Still, there is considerable room for improvement. The weakest scene comes early in the film when Gracie gets a call from work and off she goes with her siren blaring, driving like she's on her way to a crime scene. She then double parks and muscles her way to the front of a long line at Starbucks, to order coffee for everyone at work. This is not only not funny, but it almost made me want to close my eyes and take a mental time out for the rest of the film. Fortunately I did not, as from that sequence on, the film generates momentum until nearly the end.

William Shatner and Candice Bergen may be more real than we'd like to think in their portrayal of their characters. Other films that deal with the concept of beauty in recent months have been Stardom and Beautiful, and this one is the "best" from the perspective of not overreaching. Beautiful was just a bad film and Stardom did meaningful character development but pulled in so many aspects of the beauty industry that its focus was lost, and well made points were buried in a mass of information.

Many of the gags and punch lines are good enough to make you laugh out loud. In one way Bullock is taking a chance to show us how good she can be in a comedic role. However, there is the risk she is reinforcing the view that her acting skills will never move beyond either cute and/or ditzy. Miss Congeniality falls flat (pun intended) as the

To the extent I've learned anything from these various movies on what "beautiful" is, it might be that it's another form of competition which is rooted in our culture. Beauty is at times defined by the absence of certain physical attributes. None of the 50 contestants weigh "too much" or have too broad a nose.

The contestants want to win just like we all do in our chosen professions. The real question is whether beauty is something that is created and sold to us, or is it something innate such as looking at a rose and a dandelion and choosing the rose every time? It's something to think about.

Sandra Bullock: 28 Days	Benjamin Bratt: Red Planet
Michael Caine: Quills	William Shatner: Star Trek
Ernie Hudson: The Watcher	Wendy Raquel Robinson: The Steve Harvey Show-TV
Candice Bergen: Murphy Brown (TV)	Heather Burns: You've Got Mail
Melissa De Sousa: The Best Man	Diedre Quinn: The Last Dance -TV
Mary Ashleigh Green: Where The Heart Is	Donald Petrie: The Associate