Drop Dead Gorgeous Review
by John Sylva (dewyngale AT aol DOT com)July 25th, 1999
Drop Dead Gorgeous by John Sylva Rating: A-
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Welcome to Mount Rose, Minnesota. So, you're a teen girl? Make sure to check out the annual Mount Rose Miss America Teen Princess Pageant while you're here - It's tradition for young girls. Make sure you've got three things though!
1. Your gun. 2. A bad attitude. 3. A plan to make sure no one else will win.
Got it? Good.
The ideal human example of what you need to win is the rich, spoiled brat, Becky Leeman (Denise Richards), whose scheming mother, Gladys (Kirstie Alley), was winner of the pageant when she was a teen. Becky Leeman is the favorite to win this year, but has eight competitors, one of which is a serious threat to her. That would be Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst), a dedicated, hard working teen who works at the local funeral home, applying makeup to corpses before their burial. Unlike Becky, who lives in an enormous mansion, Amber lives with mother Annette and occasionally Annette's friend Loretta (Alison Janney) in a trailer.
A crew has come to Mount Rose to film the contestants, and the pageant, for their documentary film. Through this concept, we get to meet each contestant, and learn a little about each one of them, including their talents. As the pageant date comes closer and closer, the number of contestants becomes lower and lower, as young girls are mysteriously being killed.
Drop Dead Gorgeous is a hilarious mockumentary, which will go down as one of the funniest movies of the year, and also the best film about making a documentary. (The overrated Blair Witch Project would be its only competition.) The clever screenplay, which is written by first time film writer Lona Williams, features dialogue which is fast, edgy, and funny. Drop Dead Gorgeous is the type of film that I will be quoting lines from for years to come, as the dialogue exchanged among characters is hysterical. Drop Dead Gorgeous' dark humor may turn many off, but this politically incorrect comedy should go down as a classic to fans of this summer's South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, and 1998's There's Something About Mary.
In a summer full of blockbusters and special effects, Drop Dead Gorgeous is one of the few that is worth the admission price, and of course it will flop at the box office, as it made only 1.4 million on opening day, unless positive word of mouth starts flying around fast about this surprisingly funny comedy.
All of the performances are up to par, especially those of Ellen Barkin's, who is hysterical as the offbeat mother, and Kirsten Dunst, who makes the best of the screenplay, which gives her much to do. Dunst's character is not only funny, practicing her tap dancing gig while applying makeup to the dead, she is downright realistic as a caring and sensitive contestant who realizes the pageant is turning into something else - Get out before you die! Dunst, who at 17 has appeared in over ten films, including her brief, but funny performance in 1997's Wag the Dog, is getting her big break with Drop Dead Gorgeous, as her performance shows the audience the talented actress they will be seeing in many films to come over the next few years.
Denise Richards is the ideal snob as she walks around, flashing her faky smile to everyone, as her desperate mother just continues to route her on. Richards is making a great career decision with Drop Dead Gorgeous, as she has already done sci-fi (Starship Troopers) and drama (Wild Things), but is now showing off her comedic abilities, and this fall in the next James Bond installment, The World is Not Enough, will be showing off her action skills. Kirstie Alley is equally perfect as her mother, not for a second showing a bit of kindness towards the other contestants. Alley is making a career saving decision with Drop Dead Gorgeous, as her television series "Veronica's Closet" is slowly losing its popularity, and her last film, 1997's For Richer or Poorer didn't perform to well at the box office, or with critics.
The entire first hour of the film is particularly strong, but in the last thirty minutes the film starts to lose its edge, as it becomes a good comedy. Now for me to say that it becomes good, (from great) is a marvelous compliment for this underrated, overlooked film. A few guys filming a beauty pageant may not sound particularly creative, but Drop Dead Gorgeous bursts with originality and creativity, pulling numerous, consistent gags which had me in hysterics.
The Bottom Line- A clever mockumentary with a great script makes for one of the summer's best films. The title shouldn't be Drop Dead Gorgeous, it should be Drop Dead Hilarious.
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