SALLY FIELD

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BB.5. 

USA, 2000.  Destination Films, Flashpoint, Fogwood Films, Prosperity Pictures, Two Drivers Productions Company.  Screenplay by Jon Bernstein.  Cinematography by Robert D. Yeoman.  Produced by John Bertolli, B.J. Rack.  Music by John Frizzell.  Production Design by Charles William Breen.  Costume Design by Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko.  Film Editing by Debra Neil-Fisher.  

Field makes a middling directorial debut with this distracting comedy about an obsessive beauty pageant contestant (Minnie Driver) who wants to be Miss Universe badly enough to ignore the people close to her.  Joey Lauren Adams is adorable as her best friend, who supports her as far as claiming to be the mother of Driver’s fatherless daughter (Hallie Kate Eisenberg) to avoid disqualifying her from the pageants she desperately tries to win. The film gets much too cheesy by its end, but Driver’s excellent acting and the touching moments between her and Adams make it somewhat redeemable.  If you’re in the mood for beauty pageants, however, Miss Congeniality is a better way to spend the evening.

Toronto International Film Festival:  2000