Starring: Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Murciano, William Shatner
Studio: Warner Bros.
Video: 2.35:1 Widescreen Enhanced for 16:9
Audio: DD 5.1, French 5.1
Extras: Seinfeld DVD Preview, Miss Congeniality Preview, Theatrical Trailer, Missing Scenes (12 min)
Length: 115 minutes
Rating: ***
Special Agent Gracie Hart is convinced that her overwhelming publicity
has died down and is ready to go back undercover. Unfortunately,
in the middle of a sting operation, she gets spotted and almost causes
a serious incident. Due to her popularity, the FBI decides she
should be their spokesperson and would be perfect for PR use; if
she doesn’t agree, she’ll be stuck at a desk. The hoopla of being
a celebrity causes a personality change and she becomes a different
(less likable) person. The next stop on her book tour is in Las
Vegas, but when her friends from the Miss United States Beauty Pageant
are kidnapped she’s back on the job and won’t listen to authority and
won’t stop until she’s found them. She’s back undercover and it’s
as wild as ever. The friction with her new partner comes to a
head and they both earn each other’s respect.
Maybe it’s me, but the jokes just don’t seem that funny this time
around. The other problem is that, in the first film, Hart’s
character had audience sympathy. We saw her as tough, yet lonely
and vulnerable, and even when she was nasty she was still the “good
guy.” In the sequel she’s bossy, mean, vain, obnoxious, whiny,
and even though she is pursuing kidnappers and her boyfriend dumped
her, sympathy is at a minimum. The goofiness and likable quality
that was present in the first film is history. By the end when
she returns to her “old self” it’s too late and the film is over.
Aside from her character though, her partner has a good role as do the
secondary characters in the film. Thank god they kept William
Shatner, because he’s as funny as can be though his screen time is
relatively short. Though the movie was entertaining and didn’t
drag, it was clearly not as funny or rewarding as the first film.
-Brian Bloom
