Intro: I didn't get the chance to write anything new over the past few days because I was hospitalised a week ago. There's (still) an issue with my eyes - I constantly see double, they call it diplopia apparently - and the doctors cannot figure out what's causing it. It's getting much better - I can even write here! - but it still tires me out to look at a screen for too long, and it takes a lot of energy to focus on typing and reading, so I'm taking it easy for now.
Film 2482: "Miss Congeniality" (2000), Donald Petrie
Watched: On the projector
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh
Thoughts: Originally, we watched this movie to get ready for the Babes Awards - an award show my friends and I organise to give ourselves crazy titles like 'Drama Queen', 'Sporty Babe' or 'Best Couple' - because Niamh and I wanted to perform the famous opening number from the Miss United States beauty pageant featured here. Like, let's be real for a moment: "One in a Million" is a banger!
So, our plan was to study the choreography they do here and replicate it as the opening number for the 2026 Babes Awards. Reality is, there was just too much going on, our energy levels were low, and we ended up scrapping the idea in favour of something simpler: a picture and video collection of our friend group from previous years, set to the UK Traitors theme song. And that one, too, is another banger.
To be fair though, after watching "Hokum", going for something brighter and lighter in tone was definitely the right call. Not to mention that "Miss Congeniality" is just a damn good movie. It's a feel-good story, it's well told and imaginative, and it's genuinely funny. I wish they still made this kind of movie, where the premise is simple but effective, the story is fully fleshed out, and the cast is filled with true A-listers from both the present and the past. I mean, it's mind-blowing to think that "Miss Congeniality" brought together Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen, and William Shatner in the same film.
The sequel isn't nearly as good, but this one's iconic.
Film 1432 - Miss Congeniality
Film 2482 - Miss Congeniality
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, Heather Burns.
Box Office: $212.7 million
Worth a watch?: I love romcoms from this era; there's something about them that I really miss and cherish. Back when this came out, "Miss Congeniality" was considered a chick flick, a lesser movie compared to other, more "worthy" films. The reality is that, 26 years later, it's not only a comfort watch, but it's also still genuinely good and incredibly entertaining. If you haven't watched it yet, it's time to give it a go!
Awards: 2 Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Sandra Bullock) and Best Original Song - Motion Picture ("One in a Million").
Key word: Crown.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
Watched: On the projector
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh
Thoughts: Originally, we watched this movie to get ready for the Babes Awards - an award show my friends and I organise to give ourselves crazy titles like 'Drama Queen', 'Sporty Babe' or 'Best Couple' - because Niamh and I wanted to perform the famous opening number from the Miss United States beauty pageant featured here. Like, let's be real for a moment: "One in a Million" is a banger!
So, our plan was to study the choreography they do here and replicate it as the opening number for the 2026 Babes Awards. Reality is, there was just too much going on, our energy levels were low, and we ended up scrapping the idea in favour of something simpler: a picture and video collection of our friend group from previous years, set to the UK Traitors theme song. And that one, too, is another banger.
To be fair though, after watching "Hokum", going for something brighter and lighter in tone was definitely the right call. Not to mention that "Miss Congeniality" is just a damn good movie. It's a feel-good story, it's well told and imaginative, and it's genuinely funny. I wish they still made this kind of movie, where the premise is simple but effective, the story is fully fleshed out, and the cast is filled with true A-listers from both the present and the past. I mean, it's mind-blowing to think that "Miss Congeniality" brought together Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen, and William Shatner in the same film.
The sequel isn't nearly as good, but this one's iconic.
Film 1432 - Miss Congeniality
Film 2482 - Miss Congeniality
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, Heather Burns.
Box Office: $212.7 million
Worth a watch?: I love romcoms from this era; there's something about them that I really miss and cherish. Back when this came out, "Miss Congeniality" was considered a chick flick, a lesser movie compared to other, more "worthy" films. The reality is that, 26 years later, it's not only a comfort watch, but it's also still genuinely good and incredibly entertaining. If you haven't watched it yet, it's time to give it a go!
Awards: 2 Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Sandra Bullock) and Best Original Song - Motion Picture ("One in a Million").
Key word: Crown.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
