Sally (Diane Lane) is a beautiful young lady and classical pianist. Because scholarship money is always welcome, Sally enters a Texas beauty pageant...and wins. Amazingly, she wins the next round, too, that is the Miss All American Beauty Pageant. Sally is stunned and so is her boyfriend. All of a sudden, Sally is whisked away to New York for a makeover and given an itinerary to rival that of a political candidate the week before election time. Oh, she might have two days of at Thanksgiving to see her boyfriend but that's it...until Valentine's Day. At first, Sally is thrilled with the attention. But, as her commitments to her music, her family, and her near-fiancé gets shredded, Sally begins to wonder what is the meaning of it all. Will Sally survive a year as a beauty queen? This is a must see for anyone thinking of entering a beauty contest. Although adulation and scholarships are nice, the overall change in one's existence may not be worth it. Lane is very good as the beautiful woman who almost loses her identity in the whole pageant process. All of the supporting players are great, especially Chloris Leachman as Sally's chaperone and Jayne Meadows as a domineering beauty pageant official. The costumes and settings are nice, to. If you want to catch Lane in an early role, this is a nice view, with a story that should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone desiring the spotlight.
6 Reviews
A Decent TV Movie, and an early starring role for Diane Lane
med_197826 October 2008
I have to say that I did not expect much from this film. I essentially bought it as I really like Diane Lane and had not seen much of her early work.
First off the performances in the movie are decent if not great. Diane Lane is certainly beautiful enough to be believable and her acting performance is okay too. Cloris Leachman although a little agitating at times gives a good performance as her chaperone. Brian Kerwin is passable, one of the better performance is probably from David Dukes as the sleazy vice president of public relations. The actors who play Lane's parents are okay although the performance of the actor playing her father is fairly flat at times, The actress that plays her Mother gives a slightly better performance. The direction is that of your basic made for TV fare, but somehow the presence of Lane seems to make the film more interesting. Her character certainly goes through changes in the movie and all the attention she gets seems initially strange, she grows to enjoy being in the spotlight and getting attention and the trappings that come with it. Which eventually takes a toll on her family and her romance with Michael (Brian Kerwin).
This is certainly not a deep movie or a moving experience, but it is a decent way to spend 97mins and if you like Diane Lane I suggest you buy this.
First off the performances in the movie are decent if not great. Diane Lane is certainly beautiful enough to be believable and her acting performance is okay too. Cloris Leachman although a little agitating at times gives a good performance as her chaperone. Brian Kerwin is passable, one of the better performance is probably from David Dukes as the sleazy vice president of public relations. The actors who play Lane's parents are okay although the performance of the actor playing her father is fairly flat at times, The actress that plays her Mother gives a slightly better performance. The direction is that of your basic made for TV fare, but somehow the presence of Lane seems to make the film more interesting. Her character certainly goes through changes in the movie and all the attention she gets seems initially strange, she grows to enjoy being in the spotlight and getting attention and the trappings that come with it. Which eventually takes a toll on her family and her romance with Michael (Brian Kerwin).
This is certainly not a deep movie or a moving experience, but it is a decent way to spend 97mins and if you like Diane Lane I suggest you buy this.
Dull and prosaic beauty pageant movie with a young Diane Lane
Wuchakk4 January 2016
Released to TV in 1982, "Miss All-American Beauty" stars Diane Lane as the Texas winner of a Miss America-like pageant. The story chronicles her transformation as she suddenly transfers from the normal lifestyle of a good-looking young American woman to the hectic life of a famous beauty queen and everything that goes with it.
While I enjoyed going back to 1981 and Diane looks great, not to mention the other peripheral beauties, this movie is relatively boring, uneventful and unimaginative. It's got "TV movie" written all over it and not in a good way (like, say, the excellent "Pray for the Wildcats" or "Gargoyles"). But it's okay and worthwhile if you're a Lane fan.
The movie runs 96 minutes and was shot in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas.
GRADE: C
While I enjoyed going back to 1981 and Diane looks great, not to mention the other peripheral beauties, this movie is relatively boring, uneventful and unimaginative. It's got "TV movie" written all over it and not in a good way (like, say, the excellent "Pray for the Wildcats" or "Gargoyles"). But it's okay and worthwhile if you're a Lane fan.
The movie runs 96 minutes and was shot in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas.
GRADE: C
Lane is nothing more than eye candy...
moviedude12 March 2009
When beauty pageant contestant Diane Lane wins the state title, she had no idea what lay in waiting for her when she wins the national title and the public demands mount as she carries her title across the country.
To my knowledge, I've never seen this film until today, which might be a good thing, because otherwise I would have had to SUFFER through this movie more than one time. Aside from the fluff, like "Ooh! Ain't I pretty?!?!?" and the stereotypical ideas that this show represents, the only other point I would have about this film is that it is B-O-R-I-N-G!The only thing that Lane has going for her in this film (other than her beautiful looks and obvious grace and charm) is that this film is over twenty-five years old and no one will, hopefully, stumble across this film like I did on Netflix and waste their stamp to return it.
3 out of 10 stars.
To my knowledge, I've never seen this film until today, which might be a good thing, because otherwise I would have had to SUFFER through this movie more than one time. Aside from the fluff, like "Ooh! Ain't I pretty?!?!?" and the stereotypical ideas that this show represents, the only other point I would have about this film is that it is B-O-R-I-N-G!The only thing that Lane has going for her in this film (other than her beautiful looks and obvious grace and charm) is that this film is over twenty-five years old and no one will, hopefully, stumble across this film like I did on Netflix and waste their stamp to return it.
3 out of 10 stars.
Someone needed to keep Cloris away from the caffeine.
mark.waltz13 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It seems a contest between veteran actresses Cloris Leachman and Jayne Meadows who's running around more, like they were Glinda searching for her lost bubble. Put into an unflattering pink wig and even odder outfits, Leachman looks like she survived a Pepto Bismol factory explosion, then ran into an espresso factory right before it blew up, running around in this film like a flamingo being chased by a color blind Thanksgiving chef. It's embarrassing to watch the Oscar and Emmy winning actress never stopping to breathe, and she's nearly upstaged by an equally hammy Meadows as they battle to control national beauty contest winner Diane Lane.
There have been many exposes on the absurdity of beauty pageants, and this is by far the worst, cartoonish in every way and horribly written. This could easily have been a rival to "Valley of the Dolls" as fun trash, but outside of the laughs at Leachman and Meadows' expense, it's just not even close to the unintentionally funny 1967 cult classic. David Dukes and Brian Kerwin are dull leading men, with Dukes never sleazy enough as the photo journalist stalking Lane, and Kerwin just dull. Lane plays a two dimensional young woman, blandly normal with nothing striking enough to make her stand out, a complete waste considering her talent. An absolute stinker that shows that beauty, like a pimple, is only skin deep and quickly pops.
There have been many exposes on the absurdity of beauty pageants, and this is by far the worst, cartoonish in every way and horribly written. This could easily have been a rival to "Valley of the Dolls" as fun trash, but outside of the laughs at Leachman and Meadows' expense, it's just not even close to the unintentionally funny 1967 cult classic. David Dukes and Brian Kerwin are dull leading men, with Dukes never sleazy enough as the photo journalist stalking Lane, and Kerwin just dull. Lane plays a two dimensional young woman, blandly normal with nothing striking enough to make her stand out, a complete waste considering her talent. An absolute stinker that shows that beauty, like a pimple, is only skin deep and quickly pops.
An interesting and insightful made-for-TV movie about the price of fame and success
Woodyanders24 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Sweet, naive, and simple small town girl and accomplished pianist Sally Butterfield (winningly played by Diane Lane at her most radiant and ravishing) wins a Texas beauty pageant. Her heretofore dull and mundane existence gets thrown all topsy turvy as the pageant officials turn her into a glossy product and make her travel all over the country for various high profile engagements. Can Sally survive all the intense pressure and keep her integrity after being suddenly thrust into the public spotlight? Director Gus Trikonis, working from an engrossing and incisive script by Nancy Audley and Emily Tracy, relates the compelling story at a steady pace, depicts the credible characters in an intriguing and effective manner, and smartly avoids both cloying sentiment and cheesy melodrama. This film further benefits from excellent acting from a capable cast: Lane positively glows in an early lead role, Brian Kerwin contributes a strong and sympathetic performance as Sally's concerned and supportive music teacher boyfriend Michael Carrington, plus there are fine turns from Cloris Leachman as Sally's sage and maternal chaperon Agatha Blaine, David Dukes as slick pageant public relations vice president Avery McPherson, Jayne Meadows as snooty and overbearing pageant president Gertrude Hunnicutt, and Alice Hirson and Norman Bennett as Sally's warm and caring parents. Moreover, this picture delivers a potent and provocative central message about how achieving instant celebrity status can come at the cost of your soul. Robert C. Jessup's crisp cinematography gives the film a bright sparkling look and makes nifty occasional use of stately fades. Paul Chihara's sparely used score likewise does the trick with a minimum of fuss. A solid and satisfying little drama.
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