Beautiful
BB.5
(out of 5)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.
Destination Films, Flashpoint, Fogwood Films, Prosperity Pictures, Two Drivers Productions Company
USA, 2000
Directed by Sally Field
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
Toronto International Film Festival 2000
