Drop Dead Gorgeous

I'm a sucker for mid-western accents. And dead teens. And white cheddar macaroni and cheese. Two out of three ain't bad.

Surprisingly dark, and many orders of magnitude funnier than the Sandra Bullock vehicle Miss Congeniality which is similarly set in the world of beauty pageants.

What are we watching ? Drop Dead Gorgeous Yes, I know Denise Richards is in this but what are we watching Tries too hard and isn’t as funny as it thinks it should be. Wah.

This is actually a very funny mockumentary-style movie that perfectly lampoons high-school stereotypes, beauty pageants, dysfunctional families, and other assorted targets. I liked it much more than I expected to. Plus it has Amy Adams as a total slut.

It seems like this is going after that Christopher Guest-like mockumentary style, the difference is Guest makes us care about his caricatures. With the exception of Kirsten Dunst, that does not apply. I am surprised as most everyone else at having used Dunst as a positive element (something I haven't experienced since her bit in Interview with the Vampire), but damn it, it's true. Some mean-spirited humor and occasional laughs accompany this bafflement.