Drop Dead Gorgeous Review

by Michael Dequina (twotrey AT juno DOT com)
July 31st, 1999
(out of ****)

_Drop_Dead_Gorgeous_ (PG-13) **

_Dick_ (PG-13) *** 1/2

_Drop_Dead_Gorgeous_, writer Lona Williams and director Michael Patrick Jann's dark mock documentary details the events leading up to Mount Rose, Minnesota's American Teen Princess pageant, namely the rivalry between two leading candidates: rich bitch Becky Leeman (Denise Richards), daughter of the pageant coordinator and former Teen Princess (Kirstie Alley); and trailer park good girl Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst), daughter of a former runner-up (Ellen Barkin). Williams and Jann's targets are easy ones--pageants, Minnesotans, small towns--but the film bats a surprisingly low hit-to-miss ratio, with the truly inspired moments (the wheelchair-bound, anorexic reigning Teen Princess's wincingly hilarious musical number) lost in a sea of just plain unfunny ones (Amber's mother gets a beer can permanently fused to her hand after an explosion). Also a big miss is the predictable "mystery" element to the film, which has a number of contestants meeting untimely eliminations from competition. Ultimately, _Drop_Dead_Gorgeous_ exhibits a lot of attitude, but not a whole lot of smarts.

Dunst has much better luck with the _other_, much more intelligent satire she is also currently starring in, _Dick_. In what can be described as "teenage Romy and Michele take down the president," teen dim bulbs Betsy (Dunst) and Abigail (Michelle Williams) fall into the good graces of President Nixon (Dan Hedaya) and the positions of "Official White House Dog Walkers" after witnessing the Watergate break-in. Indeed, it is not the most promising of premises, but director Andrew Fleming, along with Sheryl Longin, writing collaborator turn it into gold by deftly weaving fact and fiction into a wholly convincing--and hilarious--tapestry. For instance, we learn the "true" origin of Tricky Dick's famous stance as well as what was on those missing 18 and a half minutes on Nixon's tapes (nothing criminal, but perhaps something more embarrassing). Ironically, it is those clever details that will likely lead _Dick_ to suffer the same weak box office fate that befell another savvy satire, last spring's _Election_--it is simply too smart (and, in this case, too historical) for its targeted teen audience. (_Dick_ opens August 4)

Michael Dequina
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