The Good

The Bad

Okay, I am going to get some things off my chest here. Just because out of the bizillion cookie-cutter movies Sandra Bullock does, she decides to do Crash, this is does not redeem her as an actress. Does something turn off in a an actor’s pursuit to be a star? Do they just happily go into that sad goodnight of the next “Sandra Bullock Project”, with nary a thought to the fact that they have played that role many times before? Does it ever get to them that they seem to be doing the same thing in every movie? Truth be told, I like Sandra Bullock. I think she has a certain sassiness that is endearing. This leads me to believe that she has a brain. Therefore, if she does indeed have a brain, why would she let herself get mired in such bad movies? Mrs. Bullock obviously has enough money to do whatever she wants. She could stop working tomorrow and her children’s children’s children would still be set for life. So I just don’t understand this... Also, I don’t think Mrs. Bullock has kids.

Also, the role that she plays in both Miss Congeniality movies doesn’t make any sense to me. In the first movie we are supposed to believe somehow she is an ugly duckling who has turned into a swan. In this movie, she becomes the FBI’s cover girl and that just seems to negate the whole idea of the first movie. And another thing, does anybody really believe that Sandra Bullock could ever pass for not being pretty? That she really drinks beer? Burps (well, she might do that)? And doesn’t take care of herself? I know that these are just movies, but how can we believe you as an actress when you’re all over the national magazines looking like a starlet? Yet another thing, I just don’t understand...

As for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, as you can probably guess, I really didn’t like it too much.

Features

Missing Scenes

This is actually an interesting assortment of scenes that were cut from the movie, or cut down within the movie for what I have to assume were time reasons. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the missing scene with Jeffrey Tambor. I feel that there was a lightness to it that worked for the material. It wasn’t that it was amazingly executed, but I think that on the whole it may have been improvised. While I don’t think the scene is anything special, it is nice to see actors like this (and I am obviously talking about Bullock, because we all know that Tambor is brilliant) taking chances and not afraid to deviate a little bit from people’s perceptions of them.

Video

Widescreen Version presented in a “Letterbox” widescreen format preserving the “Scope” and Aspect Ratio of it’s Original Theatrical Exhibition. Enhanced for Widescreen TVs. This movie is a star vehicle and as such it is lit for a star. The lighting isn’t too bright, it isn’t harsh, it’s just neutral and doesn’t really ask much from the viewer. I found that on my small TV, the letterbox version of this movie looked pretty good. It was bright but in a good way. I am sure that people who are fans of Sandra Bullock have come to expect certain things from her films. They want to see her smile, they want to her put in funny situations and most of all they want to see her end up happy with some guy. The look of this DVD does nothing to detract from obtaining these experiences. More to the point, I think these films are geared in such a way so that no matter how bleak things sometimes look for Sandra, they will always work out in the end.

Audio

Dolby Digital. English Dolby Surround 5.1. French Dolby Surround 5.1. The sound on this DVD is pretty solid. Even with the supplemental materials, I found that I was able to hear everything perfectly and didn’t really have to adjust the volume on my set at all. A movie like this isn’t really going to ask a lot of the viewer as far as sound is concerned. And truthfully, it doesn’t really need to. This is isn’t an action film, it isn’t a horror film, it is a light comedy in which we see one of America’s Sweethearts flail around in search of respect and trying to prove people wrong about who she is. Other then getting those various points across, and making sure that we are hearing what we are supposed to hear, I don’t think we can expect too much more from this DVD.

Package

Exactly the one-sheet that I remember advertising this movie. Sandra Bullock in a showgirl outfit, switching out her boots for more comfortable shoes. Yeah know, even for a film like this, I find this cover to be really devoid of any thought or work. It seems like people felt they could just put Bullock on the cover and they would make millions. Which, I think they pretty much did so what do I know, right? The back features more pictures of Sandy, a lite description of the movie, the extra features, a credits list and some minor tech specs. There is nothing here that really stands out at all. Nothing that makes me say to myself, ”Man, I have really got to see that movie”. This cover just looks like a rehash from the first movie, and the movie itself looks like that as well.

Final Word

Okay, maybe it is me? Maybe I just don’t get it? Maybe I take things a tad too seriously? But why in the world would anybody waste their time seeing a movie when just by the trailer you can tell exactly how it is going to be? I am not saying that all films have to be heady experiences, but couldn’t we have more of those kinds of films in the marketplace? Couldn’t they at least have a chance? Hasn’t a movie like Crash shown that a large audience will pay good money to see an intelligent film?

I know that people just go to the movies for entertainment. I know that it is called show business for a reason. However, this business is hurting at the box office. The reason why is not because people want to be “blown away” in the theater, it’s because they want to see good movies. And when a movie like Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous comes out, with the window from theatrical release to DVD getting smaller and smaller, why would people pay to see a film like this when they can watch it on DVD a few months after it comes out?

Movies like Miss Congeniality 2 have a place. They make money and it is obvious that a large part of America enjoys them. Isn’t also true that a large part of America likes movies that make them think once in awhile?

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous was released March 11, 2005.