My new favorite detail in Miss Congeniality
Definitely missed this bit when I was a kid
Remember Miss Congeniality? It stars Sandra Bullock as an FBI agent named Grace who has to go undercover at a beauty pageant and finds out that women put Preparation H under their eyes. Austin Power’s dad is also in it as her curmudgeon beauty pageant coach who doesn’t let her eat pastries.
The movie left such an impression on me as a kid, I think because I rented it from Blockbuster right around the time my mom started letting me watch PG-13 movies.
It’s one of those movies that most people remember for the quotes rather than the actual viewing experience, and I’m glad it’s found such staying power in the nAUGHTstolgic internet, particularly because of this gem:
What I remember most about the movie is Sandra Bullock’s character being a perfect combination of sour, hilarious, and drop dead gorgeous. I loved how much food she ate — she gobbles down a steak slathered in spaghetti marinara, she convinces all the pageant contestants to eat pizza and drink beer, and she holds Academy Award winner Michael Cain at gun-point so she can eat a frickin’ donut.
Also, I know I’m not the only one who learned about using the palm of my hand to punch men in the nose if they attack me from Gracie Lou Freebush’s talent portion of the pageant.
What I didn’t remember was WHY this part was so important (besides the obvious hilarity of seeing Grace’s jerk of a co-worker get punched in the balls).
There’s a part where Grace takes all the girls out partying the night before the pageant and they end up getting wasted at a paint bar (don’t worry, thanks to movie magic none of them have hangovers the next day). The FBI suspects Miss Rhode Island might be involved in their terrorist case, so Grace casually asks her if she’s ever done anything illegal. You know, girl talk.
This sweet lil baby girl admits to stealing underwear from the department store — Grace breathes a sigh of relief — and oh yeah there was that time in college where she was assaulted by her lit professor!
“I know that kind of thing happens all the time,” she says.
Grace is incensed. This whole movie every single man has been a complete nut sack to her. They’ve called her names, looked at photos of her in a bathing suit without permission, and constantly tell her she needs to follow their rules. She holds her own. She eats the donut.
But hearing that her friend was overpowered? That gets under her skin.
I rewatched this movie last night and let me tell you, the romantic storyline absolutely sucks. When Grace is about to share a kiss with Benjamin Bratt’s character, his way of saying he likes her is, “I want to take you out to dinner, and if we happen to have sex afterwards, so be it.”
She just did your job for you, dude. Have some respect.
But seeing the connection between Miss Rhode Island’s assault and Grace giving a live self-defense demonstration on national television changed how I see the movie. Despite the classic rom-com tropes, Grace doesn’t “end up” with the guy.
She ends up with the girls!
Seriously, the last scene of the movie has nothing to do with the men (they’re there to look proud and applaud). Grace isn’t trotting into the sunset with Benjamin Bratt for dinner and maybe boring fuckboi sex after — she’s giving a very “I didn’t save you, you saved me” speech to all the women she met in the pageant.
She ends up 👏🏼 with 👏🏼 the girls.
I already knew I loved this movie, but maybe now I really realize why.
This has always been a favorite of mine, but this perspective makes me even more ready for a rewatch. Thank you!