Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Dir Michael Patrick Jann

Written by Lona Williams

Kirsten Dunst, Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Denise Richards, Alison Janney, Brittany Murphy, Amy Adams, Mindy Stirling, Will Sasso, Sam McMurray.

In a small town in Minnesota, a group of teenage girls compete to win a beauty pageant in order to go to State Finales, and hopefully… nationals. Amber Atkins (Dunst) is the all American sweetheart who is vying to get away from her life. She lives in the ‘trailers’ of her town, with her well meaning, but ne’er-do-well mother (Barkin), who along with neighbour (Janney), are her biggest supporters.

Also competing is the town rich girl Becky (Richards), whose mother (the late Alley) is the president of the beauty pageant. As the lead up for the pageant amps up, a documentary crew is sent to interview all those who are involved with it, and soon a series of accidents start occurring, as some of the contestants start dying in bizarre accidents.

Very funny black comedy, and might be one of the earliest uses of the mockumentary in a comedy movie. This is done very well, and is similar to that of The Office. There are some jokes that have sadly aged a little, but as a ‘almost’ Gen X, I still laughed and found them humorous.

The cast are all brilliant, with the entire primary, and most of the secondary cast members being women. The unique ‘Minnesotan’ accent is also strong on most of them, and is played for comical effect. There is an exceptionally funny ‘ad’ that is shown, that features the actress that played the wife from Fargo, which is very funny.

While it will never sit in the list of the best films ever made, it is still a very enjoyable film, and comes from, what is in my opinion the best year in cinema history – 1999. I had fond memories as a teenager watching this, and it did not disappoint at my current age.

It is worth noting that there were a few cast members that I had forgotten that were here. Amy Adams in one of her early roles is almost unrecognisable to what she is today, and the late Brittany Murphy who plays one of the contenders for the pageant.

3.5/5