Customer Reviews

Drop Dead Gorgeous (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Drop Dead Gorgeous
I am replacing videotapes & had been looking for this super-fun dvd for some time. I finally found it! What a wonderfully sarcastic comment on American beauty contests. This somewhat black humor is a great pick-me-up for too much grey weather. I would recomend this flick to everyone who enjoys crazy ironies in life.

This flick holds up, and is funnier each and every time! Tammy Curry, the butch girl on the tractor should have won the crown in my book....and Alison Janney is drop dead hysterical....Any pageant where the host hotel is the airport Howard Johnson ROCKS in my book!

At first I thought this was just a movie about a beauty pageant - it sort of is, but it is one of the funniest movies I've seen. Lots of one-liners, and you notice more random funny things stuck in each time you watch it. I'd highly recommend this movie to anyone with a sarcastic sense of humor, especially if you'll catch small-town northern-Minnesota (or WI or MI or ME or Canada) jokes. Great flick.

I pull out "Drop Dead Gorgeous" every once-in-awhile for an honest laugh. The movie is a "fake" documentary about contestants in a beauty pageant, some of whom meet unhealthy fates - hence the double meaning of the title.

Kirsten Dunst plays "Amber Atkins", and Denise Richards plays "Rebecca Ann Leeman", the two main contestants. Amber is kind of a natural inexperienced contestant and lives in a trailer park, while Rebecca has that fake professional sincerity so important to contests and lives in a big colonial house. She is also vice-president of the local Lutheran Sisters gun club, and was given a "nine mil" by her mom on her thirteenth birthday. Their mothers are played by Ellen Barkin as "Annette Atkins" and Kirsty Alley as "Gladys Leeman". Annette is a former contestant, and Gladys is a past pageant winner and is also the chairman of the pageant organizing committee, but swears impartiality. Amber is competing because her two favorite people in the world - her mom, and news-personality Diane Sawyer - competed in them. She practices her talent (tap-dancing) while at work - at a mortuary doing hair and makeup on the deceased. She wants to be a "big-time reporter" like Diane Sawyer.

Brittany Murphy is a giggly contestant "Lisa Swenson". She is in it because "if you're seventeen, and not a total fry, it's just what you do." She is hilarious, especially when she shows pictures of her brother who is dressed as Liza Minelli, Madonna, And Barbra Streisand. "Tess" is another contestant, but very plain looking. Unfortunately, her former pet dog bit her, but as she says (and shows)..."they remade my belly with skin from my [back]." Another contestant, "Molly", was adopted by a Japanese couple after they came to America. They have a Japanese daughter as well, but they yell at her speak English. The previous winner, Mary Johanson, is now in the hospital suffering from an anorexia. Amber comes by the hosptal weekly to "do" Mary's hair (which is falling out). Rebecca also drops by the hospital (to be on camera), and brings her a box of chocolates.

Judge #1, "John Dough", gets a little nervous when asked about judging the young girls. "I don't get off on that kind of thing. That's really why you're askin', right? Someone say somethin'?" Judge #2, "Harold Vilmes", runs a paint and hardware store, and has a rather slow-witted brother, Hank, who approaches the camera and excitedly asks "Are we on Cops, are we on Cops?". Judge #3 is a woman straight-laced woman, Jean Kangas, who works at the Leeman furniture store.

Amber is asked out by the captain of the football team, Brett, and is excited, but then she thinks she'll probably have to work at the funeral home - "we're real busy this time of year...hunting season." Brett goes duck-hunting, and indeed, Amber will eventually do his hair and makeup, too.

Amber gets a photo of the first killed girl, "Tammy", with "you're next" printed on the back. Later, there is an explosion and fire at her trailer. Although her mother survives the blast, she ends up with a beercan fused into her hand. "Well, I sat down to have a beer, and 'kablooey', next thing I know, somethin' blows through my kitchen window, and I'm ass-up in somebody's flower bed." Amber wants to quit the pageant but her mother talks her into continuing - "You're not the one who knows how Jiffy Pop feels, missy."

At the pre-contest interview, all the other constestants are asked simple questions ("what kind of a tree would you be?") except Amber, who is asked to name and spell all 50 states in alphabetical order. At the dress-rehearsal, another contestant wants to switch numbers with Amber. Tragically, an overhead stage light falls on the contestant as she is performing her interpretive dance with sign language - a light meant for Amber?

I won't spoil the rest of it.

It takes place in Minnesota. A few Minnesotans (and others) have complained that the accents are a bit much. However, in my job I talk to people all over America, and every single person I've spoken to in Minnesota has that accent, you betcha.

Amber and Annette's neighbor, "Loretta", is played by Allison Janney. She has a small role but funny dialog. Adam West (original "Batman") has a small role as the pageant host, and pokes a little fun at himself.

Some politically incorrect phrases such as "Jew", "cripple", "Japs" and "retard", pop up, so if you are sensitive, you unfortunately should watch something else.

The PG-13 rated DVD has the full-screen and wide-screen version, cast and crew text, a trailer, and DVD-ROM script-to-screen. Not many funnier movies out there. And cheap, too.

I loved this movie from the first moment! Alley has always been a favorite of mine (so has Dunst and Murphy and Denise somewhat) but they have really outdone themselves this time. The humor was so in the viewer's face, especially during the talent portion. I was really surprised that this teeny-bop feeling film hit the spot so well, but it was a crazy ride of the madness of beauty pageants.

This was a funny satire type movie that kept me laughing and entertained throughout. It stars Kirsten Dunst as Amber, a young hopeful girl who is entering a beauty pageant. The movie also stars Kirstie Alley, Allison Janney, Denise Richards and Ellen Barkin. Alley plays Gladys, mother of Becky (who is also entering the pageant). The movie is funny from start to finish, very over the top in terms of humor, but it's hilarious. Almost every scene has something funny, or very subtle that you need to pay attention to in order to catch on. It's a fun silly movie that I've enjoyed watching again and again.

Miss Burnsville, was the best part of this movie. She was the best looking contestant, and the way she looked at Kristen Dunsts character made you realize she was the true winner. She should of never eaten the contaminated shellfish. The Miss Rose pageant was fixed in my mind. Miss Burnsville should of had more parts in the movie.

This my ulitmate favorite movie!! It is so much fun! You have to listen and watch carfully to get the full effect of the comedy but it is so funny when you catch all the little effects. Especially when your from the 'mount rose' area of the country and you realize you really do talk like that. Which I do. So if you are fortunate to see this...You better pee first cause you'll laugh so hard you'll piss your pants!!

As a "mockumentary" this movie fails miserably, in spite of the stellar cast. See Spinal Tap or Best in Show if you're looking for offbeat humor. *Disappointing* only begins to describe this pathetic piece.

Who had the idea to make this junk? Have they paid a person to write something like this? You better keep your money and spend it for something good. If I could give zero stars I would.