Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Michael Patrick Jann

Writer (WGA):

Lona Williams (written by)

Release Date:

23 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The battle between the good and the bad is bound to get ugly.

Plot:

In a small Minnesota town, the annual beauty pageant is being covered by a TV crew. Former winner Gladys...

Plot Keywords:

Arm Amputation | Teen Movie | Mental Retardation | Beauty Pageant | Fake Documentary

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Kirsten Dunst	...	Amber Atkins
Ellen Barkin	...	Annette Atkins
Allison Janney	...	Loretta
Denise Richards	...	Rebecca 'Becky' Ann Leeman
Kirstie Alley	...	Gladys Leeman
Sam McMurray	...	Lester Leeman
Mindy Sterling	...	Iris Clark
Brittany Murphy	...	Lisa Swenson
Amy Adams	...	Leslie Miller
Laurie A. Sinclair	...	Michelle Johnson (as Laurie Sinclair)
Shannon Nelson	...	Tess Weinhaus
Tara Redepenning	...	Molly Howard
Sarah Stewart	...	Jenelle Betz
Alexandra Holden	...	Mary Johanson
Brooke Elise Bushman	...	Tammy Curry

Also Known As:

Dairy Queens (USA) (working title)
Gnadenlos schön (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for irreverent and crude humor, sex-related material and language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Village, Lakeville, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Capella International

Trivia:

Screenwriter Lona Williams was herself a contestant in local beauty pageants. She appears in the film as the pageant's third, non-speaking judge, Jean.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A 1998 Lincoln Town Car Limousine was in a scene at a hotel. This scene and most of the movie took place in 1995.

Quotes:

Gladys Leeman: [wearing her old pageant outfit] And look, it still fits!
Loretta: So she had big ass then, she's got a big ass now.

Movie Connections:

References "Cops" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Ballad Of A Teenage Queen

If you don't deserve it; you deceive to get it.

This is a semi-hilarious mock documentary about a teen beauty contest in Minnesota. Anywhere from hilarious to ridiculous and all points in between. The only thing redeeming is Kirsten Dunst. She knows how to get your pity, concern and loyalty. Ellen Barkin is hardly recognized as Kirsten's drunken mother. Kirstie Alley is pretty darn good as the dirty dealing former beauty queen and mother of the obvious next winner(Denise Richards). Miss Richards' character is beautiful; but spoiled, pampered and a bitch. Not exactly an expose, because the behind the scenes back stabbing is assumed to be part of a beauty pageant. Tongue-in-cheek humor. Nevertheless another vehicle for the talented Miss Dunst.