Reviews

Frankly, I wasn't expecting much, but this is a worthy companion to "Waiting for Guffman," and just as surprisingly, maybe even a little funnier. The joy of this movie isn't in the "who wins?" aspect, but in the side "business" dealing with the judges and the other contestants.

Any movie that starts with the line "No, cow manure can't hurt you" is aces in my book. Besides, the writer, Lona Williams, writes for the Drew Carey Show and was herself a Minnesota beauty queen.

Look for some very funny scenes with Nora Dunn, Mo Gaffney, Brittany Murphy, and Allison Janney. And Kirstie Alley does her damnedest with a pretty thin character.

This is quite a surprise -- a real charmer of a movie. Who knew that Don Johnson and Susan Sarandon could co-exist in the same movie -- and play so well? And with Elizabeth Perkins and Jeff Daniels, the charm and the good looks just ooze off the screen.

While it seemed to drag for hours when I first saw it, this is one of the few movies I've seen in a long time that stays with me.

The performances are marvelously restrained -- there could have been a lot of hamminess with these two actors -- due, in part, to a director with a very clear vision.

The scenes with Irv the Diner Owner are particularly interesting.

It's worth a look.

Once again, Joan has at least one scene where she's tearing down a daughter character. "If you can't be pretty, you could at least be interesting," she tells Blossom. Hmmm. Take that, Christina!

From the opening sequence looking at a bad last date to the final, weird announcement at the end of the film, Happiness shocked, entertained and enlightened -- and that's what movies can do.

Definitely NOT for all tastes.

Performances are uniformly terrific -- Jane Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Dylan Baker doing career-making work. (It's a shame Baker will be overlooked at Oscar time because of the nature of his character!) Elizabeth Ashley, in a cameo, is breezy and beautiful -- I wish there had been more of her character, less of Louise Lasser's.

It's nice to see that Solondz broke that sophomore-feature slump that so many other promising young filmmakers can't sustain, such as Soderbergh and Singleton.

Very clever little film. Loses a little by being black and white. "Kyle" isn't much to look at, unless you like them YOUNG looking; Mike's dreamy. Enough nudity to sustain interest beyond some pretty amateurish acting. Great first-date movie. Of course, it's a much better first date if both of you are boys.

There IS a movie worse than SHOWGIRLS -- and this is it! Dreadful acting, idiotic plot, horrible score -- a divine movie for those who love bad ones!

My favorite scene: Putting Joyce through "the slacks test." Oooh!

Can't wait for the DVD version ...