Smile

I feared the worst --lampooning beauty pageants is shooting fish in a barrel, but Michael Ritchie's Smile is yet another example of the peak period of American filmmaking. Many of the contestants are sympathetic, and the film's downbeat ending speaks to the malaise that encroached upon American optimism. It's also a nifty time capsule. In a weird way, it's specificy of time and location hasn't dated it but made it more authentic.

Yes yes, Nashville for beauty pageants. Much more engaging than Drop Dead Gorgeous. Interesting characters, fun to see some later stars in their early days. Michael Kidd was a highlight. About the only part I didn't care for was the klan in the woods (seriously, would a California group of local businessmen be that tone deaf?) Fav scene: I really like the twist with the winners.

Altman-esque satire of beauty pageants, showing not only the inanity (and insanity) they engender, but also, in the person of chief judge Big Bob (Bruce Dern), how one can be seduced by the ideals of pageants--and in the person of Andy (Nicholas Pryor), how they can run one ragged. Discursive and overlong, but Jerry Belson's razor-sharp has many delights to offer, as does Michael Ritchie's direction. A superb ensemble cast, with Dern, Joan Prather, Michael Kidd, and Titos Vandis standing out.

This film is a powerhouse. A great companion piece to Nashville, too. I get the feeling that Ritchie is one of the most underrated 70's filmmakers (moreso than Ashby and Pakula, even) and this movie displays a blunt, brutally funny, occasionally vicious satire. Also, it has phenomenal performances from the entire cast, including one of Bruce Dern's best performances. Essential if you love 70's American cinema.

In "Nashville," Altman wielded a scalpel of satire, but Richie just uses a club. There is an improvisatory feel to the best of the beauty pageant scenes that remind me of Milos Forman's superb "Taking Off," and there are very good performances by Barbara Feldon and Bruce Dern, as well as a truly memorable one by Annette O'Toole (plus the heartbreaking beauty of 17 year old Melanie Griffith), but the movie is too often condescending and mean-spirited toward its characters.

Funny satire of a national high-school girls' beauty pageant. No prisoners are taken