Beautiful

Rating:
Summary: THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE QUEEN...
Review: This is a movie about Mona, a girl who dreams of one day winning the Miss American Miss beauty pageant. Growing up in a dysfunctional, white trash sort of family, this is all of which she dreams. With a mother who is totally uninterested in what she does, and a step-father who apparently makes sexual overtures towards her, for which the wily Mona is well prepared to fend, she singlemindedly manages to keep her eye on the prize.

As a gawky, lonely preteen, she saves her money to enter local pageants. She also has the great fortune to meet Ruby, a nice girl with a kind hearted grandmother who takes an interest in Mona. Together, they help her achieve her goal. As Mona grows older and blossoms, she manages to meet with more success at pageants, but is not above to resorting to dirty tricks to achieve her goal, as the beauty business is an ugly one.

When she becomes unexpectedly pregnant, a state which would disqualify her from entering pageants in the future were she to have a child, Ruby steps up to home plate for her best friend. Mona has the child, Vanessa, whom Ruby raises as her own. Vanessa believes Ruby to be her mother, and Mona to be her aunt, and they all live together. Ruby is the proverbial madonna, and Mona shows no maternal inclination.

Ruby works as an attendant in an old age home, bringing home the bacon, while Mona becomes Miss Illinois, still a little girl at heart, wanting the mother who rejected her to come to the Miss American Miss pageant and sit in the family box. By now, Mona is drop dead gorgeous and a talented singer, but self absorbed and conniving, oblivious to the needs and feelings of others.

What ultimately happens to Ruby and Mona is ridiculous. Moreover, Ruby and Mona are written as one dimensional characters. Why Ruby sacrifices her entire life to be a virtual door mat, a self effacing, self-sacrificing friend, who appears to get nothing in return from Mona, is not clear. It is hard to believe that Ruby just wants to be needed and used to the extent that she is. The fact that Mona once went to Ruby's aid as a young girl, when she was bothered during a lunchtime fracus by some boys, does not make Ruby's lifetime sacrifice believable. Moreover, when Ruby is falsely imprisoned over a charge of euthenasia, Mona shows no concern for Ruby, but, instead, wonders what is to become of herself, now that Ruby is not around to help her with the Miss American Miss pageant looming on the horizon.

Why Mona is friends with Ruby is more clear. Mona gets unconditional acceptance and love from Ruby, something that Mona's own mother failed to give her. Ruby nurtures and supports Mona, while Mona tries to achieve her ultimate goal, which appears to be nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to win her own mother's love and affection. Ruby also mothers Vanessa, as Mona gives no evidence of any maternal feelings. Ruby also does not seem to have any boyfriends, which gives rise to the issue of latent lesbianism as an underlying reason for her passionate devotion to Mona and her needs.

During the Miss American Miss pageant, the movie heads south into a downward spiral. Vanessa, attending the pageant, begins suspecting that Mona might, in fact, be her biological mother, due to their ostensible resemblance. While Vanessa is undoubtedly adorable, Mona has a last minute, totally uncharacteristic change of heart that comes out of left field and is simply unbelievable. Her on stage, public acknowledgement of Vanessa as her own daughter, during the pageant she has worked her entire life to win, is ludicrous and inconsistent with what has transpired the entire movie. Her last ditch effort at redemption falls somewhat flat, as she previously showed no sign of any redeeming qualities. Moreover, her winning the title of Miss American Miss in contravention of the rules, because the public appears to approve of her admission, is likewise laughable. Of course, the innocent Ruby is released from prison and not the least disturbed that Vanessa, whom she has raised since infancy and devotedly loved and nurtured, has been reclaimed by Mona without so much as a thank you. It is a patently dishonest move by the writer to try and tie up this uneven movie in one gift wrapped package at the very end.

Clearly, the writer wants this this to be a film where all is well that ends well. In this, the writer has failed miserably, as he ends up satisfying no one, with a movie that ends up being neither fish nor fowl. It fails as a satire, as a parody, as a drama, and as a comedy, providing a modicum of entertainment, at best. It is a film to be moderately enjoyed, but not lauded. Too bad the writer lacked the guts to see the movie he began to, what might have been, a very bitter, though more honest, end. It would probably have made for a better movie.

Sally Fields, in her directorial debut, does the best she can do with a script that misses the mark. Still, she gets great performances out of the entire cast. Minnie Driver in the title role of Mona, the girl who would be queen, is terrific. Joey Lauren Adams is effective as Ruby, Mona's self-sacrificing, best friend, who apparentlyly believes that greater love has no woman than to lay down own's life for a friend. Hallie Kate Eisenberg is adorable in the role of Vanessa, the precocious daughter. Look also for a small cameo by Kathleen Turner, as the director of a modeling school.

Rating:
Summary: skip this!
Review: This is a really bad movie. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was that the beauty pageant thing can be quite funny, but this film is taking an otherwise funny topic and not doing enough with it. Minnie Driver is MUCH more charming and likeable in Return to Me.

Rating:
Summary: Entirely Girls Movie!
Review: This is outrageous! Sally Field's directorial debut is so nasty because "Beautiful" is MADE ENTIRELY FOR GIRLS!!! NOT ONE SINGLE MALE WILL EVER WATCH THIS MOVIE unless they have a girlfriend.

I watched it and didn't like it because it was made entirely for girls. However, we must understand that some things we should learn by seeing this movie are about growing up, and since Mona (Minnie Driver) was relentless in her quest for the "Miss American Miss" crown, which she dreamed of being, having the determination of making dreams come true.

Rating:
Summary: A schmaltzy comedy for women
Review: This is Sally Field's directorial debut in a feature film and I give her mixed reviews. Most of the criticism I have with this film is the way it is directed. It has a schizophrenic presentation. On one hand, it is a satire about beauty pageants and the women who compete in them. On the other, it is a serious story about a young woman trying to overcome her mother's rejection and validate her self worth by winning beauty contests. Added to the dramatic element is a personal growth epiphany, as the shallow beauty queen comes to terms with life's priorities, embracing her daughter as being more important than her dream.

Either of these elements could have worked alone, but together they are incongruous. The satire trivializes the human-interest story, and the human-interest story weighs down the comedy. Field's direction, as has been recently true of her acting roles, is best suited for the human-interest angle. In this film, that is the strongest element. Despite my being cynical about how predictable and schmaltzy this story was, I still couldn't help being choked up at the end, sappy as it was. This is to Field's credit as a dramatic director. However, her attempt to fuse the two discordant elements is misguided and it detracts from the overall entertainment value of the film.

The acting is generally good. Minnie Driver is a far better dramatic actor than she is a comedian and that is reflected in this film. In the satirical comedy scenes, her acting is very forced and artificial. In the serious dramatic scenes with Mona's mother and daughter, she is compelling and believable. Joey Lauren Adams gives a consistently excellent performance as Mona's best friend and Vanessa's surrogate mother. Adams is lovable, steady and kind, and she effuses sincerity. This film is a showcase for Hallie Kate Eisenberg, the Media's latest child phenom. A favorite in commercials and on the Jay Leno show, Eisenberg shows in this film that she can really act, delivering an astonishing performance as Mona's pouty but perceptive child ("I'm seven, I'm not stupid!").

This is a good film for women. The comedy is not that funny, but the mother-daughter angle will be good for a Kleenex or two. I rated it a 7/10, including a one-point bonus for the schmaltzy but effective ending. Guys bring a copy of Sports Illustrated and a flashlight.

Rating:
Summary: a good movie to watch with your girlfriends
Review: This movie is funny, charming, and at times just plain cheesey - the perfect movie for a girls' night out! I think the funniest part of the movie was when little Mona couldn't eat an orange because she was on a diet.. A good movie overall, worth buying as long as it's a good price!!

Rating:
Summary: Minni was great
Review: This movie was cute. My entire faimily enjoyed it. My husband and I had to rewind and watch minni sing, "Will you love me tommarow" a second time. She has a wonderful voice. I wish I could find a music CD of hers. To many people over analyze movies. It just a fun movie. It's not true to life.

Rating:
Summary: the ugliness of beauty pageants
Review: This was a pretty good movie -- Mona has wanted to be a beauty pageant winner her whole life. The movie starts with 20 minutes of her childhood in 1986, when she first meets her best friend Ruby, a shy sweet girl, and her grandmother. Mona finds the love they show her disconcerting after the harsh hardscrabble life she endures at home with her mean mother and awful stepfather.

The movie then fast-forwards to Ruby and Mona as adults and roommates. Mona has had a little girl Vanessa but has passed her off as Ruby's child in order to enter beauty pageants that require women not to have children. Mona's ambition is so great that she is completely self-centered.

But then Ruby undergoes a tragic obstacle at work, and for once, Mona has to be there for her and Vanessa. But can she, and still be Miss America at the same time?

The acting is well-done, and Sally Field's direction is great. Minnie Driver is good as Mona, both piteous and funny, especially when she looks for someone to "save" so she can make front-page news like one of her competitors. Colleen Rennison as Mona (age 12) is a wonderful actress, and captures Mona's turmoil to be something no matter what. She could give lessons to Hallie Kate Eisenberg, who just screams throughout the entire flick as Vanessa.

Rating:
Summary: cath your dream
Review: Title: Beautiful
Rating: PG13

Imagine you worked all your life for something, such as a career. But when you get there you think you've failed but you really haven't . well that is what this story is about. A young women named Mona that worked all her life toward being Miss American Miss, but she had a child and she thought her career was over.
I think this story has a good plot. Because it deals with a lot of courage and inspires others not to give up on their dreams. there are three main characters in this story. Which are ,Mona which is the main character, Vanessa, Mona's little girl, and Mona's best friend, Ruby.
This story is mostly about a young women who didn't give up on her dream. Even though they looked helpless. And she depended on her best friend to help her accomplish her dream. Mona's parents were not supportive of anything Mona did. so Ruby came into the picture sort of like a mercy angle. Ruby helped Mona almost the whole way through. But it came to the point where Mona had to do it on her own. Will Mona win the pageant alone? The directors chose on the backgrounds and the outfits was excellent! Anyway I think this movie is the best movie ever made! And I highly recommend it to anyone who has a dream. And I think only middle school and up should be aloud to watch this film. Because of the rating which isPG.13.Mostly because of language.
I will end My review with a question for you to think about. If you where just about to catch your dream but it would hurt someone to make it happen, what would you do?

Rating:
Summary: will you still love me tomorrow sung by minnie driver
Review: watch for the scene where minnie driver sings will you still love me tomorrow. she needs to become a singer. she has a beautiful voice.

Rating:
Summary: A slow start, but a fantastic finale
Review: Well, this is very slow at the beginning, I really like Minnie Driver so that helps. There is a strange feeling throughout the movie, also because You think how she can act as sthough the little girl is not her daughter. BUt, without giving it away, the finale is truly great, I loved it so much, you could expect two finales, but the actual one you'll never guess. It was such a great experience. BUt over all it amounts to 4 stars because the rest is what it is.