MIT Lecture Series Committee

February 7 & 8, 2014

Rated PG-13
109 minutes

view trailer

format: 35mm

Miss Congeniality (2000)

FREE admission and popcorn, sponsored by the de Florez Fund for Humor!

Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI agent with a reputation for being aggressive and hard-nosed, who has long wanted to duplicate the career of her deceased mother, also an FBI agent, who died in the line of duty. Her cantankerous nature, though, has made her few friends, excepting her trusting, sensitive partner Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt). However, her true abilities are put to the test when she is called upon to infiltrate a Miss United States pageant after a terrorist threatens to bomb it. Gracie, who prides herself on her toughness, must now feminize her behavior to effectively participate in the pageant with the aid of Victor Melling (Michael Caine), a pompous consultant who dreams of whisking away Gracie's past self and creating "Gracie Lou Freebush" for an appreciative, all-American audience. After her arduous conversion, Gracie must play the role of beauty queen and FBI agent, and try not to blow her undercover outfit. Miss Congeniality, which was produced by star Bullock, features television stalwarts William Shatner and Candice Bergen in supporting roles. [www.allmovie.com]

Sandra Bullock gives her regular-gal aura a serious workout in Miss Congeniality as an ugly-duckling FBI agent transformed into a beauty-pageant swan. And, by gum, she pulls it off.
      -- Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer. Read this review.