Rating: 
Summary: Better than I Expected
Review: I thought this movie was adorable! I loved the way it started out with Minnie Driver's character as a child- the endless amount of energy (and make-up and money!) the little girl put into her pageant efforts was hilarious! The "Miss America Miss" pageant contestants were classic- it makes you realize just how ridiculous those things are! Yes, it was cheesy and overly dramatic, definitely unrealistic, but it was clearly intended to be this way. This satire was also very sweet with the very young Hallie Kate stealing the show!
Rating: 
Summary: Horrid
Review: I unfortunately had to sit through this in the theatre, and it was one of the worst films I saw last year. The Pepsi Girl does what she can, but Driver is annoying and Joey Lawrence Adams is wasted here. "Miss Congeniality" covers similair material in a much more likeable fashion. This film is mean, stereotyped and not worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: LIKE IT ALOT
Review: I went into this movie with low exeptations.because it had been so poorly reviewd but i liked it a whole bunch. the perfomances were great espically haley kate esiberg.but you really wonder how could anybody be so selfish that they let there freind rasie there own daugther just so they could compete in beauty pagents.
Rating:
Summary: Great addition to the "chick flick" genre!
Review: Minnie Driver acted brilliantly in this movie, even though her CHARACTER was a very annoying, self-centered person. Don't fear though, her character does grow to be loved. Driver's character has a dream to one day become "Miss America Miss" and she'll stop at nothing for a chance to wear the crown. Along for the ride is her childhood friend, played by Joey Lauren Adams of "Dazed and Confused" and "Mallrats". She's the rational, lovable one of the duo. Her character sews the funky costumes that Driver wears in the pageants. Also in the movie is Halley Kate Eisenburg, the girl from the Pepsi commercials. Surprisingly, she didn't annoy me in this film. She's actually a great little actress! Two other actresses add much to their small roles--Bridgette Wilson (from "The Weddding Planner") plays Miss Texas and Kathleen Robertson (Claire from 90210) plays Miss Tennessee. Even the "Doritos" girl makes a cameo as she gives up her crown to the new Miss America Miss. Watch this adorable movie to see who the lucky winner is! This is a perfect movie for a girls' night in! Don't forget the candy and popcorn!
Rating: 
Summary: This movie made me love Minnie Driver
Review: Minnie is great in this film. She has great comedic abilities, and the pageant fights and competitions are hilarious. Kathleen Turner is perfect as the has-been pageant coach, and the little girl is adorable. I laughed all the way through.
Rating: 
Summary: hopeless misfire
Review: One thing is for certain: "Beautiful" is one of the screwiest, messiest excuses for a movie to have come down the pike in a very long time. God only knows what writer Jon Bernstein and director Sally Field were hoping to achieve in this idiotic tale of a young woman's obsession with winning beauty pageants at any and all costs - but whatever it was, the film that resulted could hardly have been more lacking in humor, taste or point. One suspects that satire was probably the ultimate goal, but for that a filmmaker has to be able to demonstrate at least a modicum of discipline and control over style, tone and substance. This film goes flying out in all directions at once. One moment it is indulging in broad caricature and buffoonish slapstick, followed the next moment by searing drama and schmaltzy sentimentality. Bernstein and Fields keep throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the mix - neglectful parents, pedophilia, obnoxious children, euthanasia, murder charges - in the futile hope that somehow it will all result in a knee-slapping comedy. Maybe they felt that if they just kept adding elements, regardless of how disparate and contradictory they happened to be, we simply wouldn't notice the pointlessness and impossibility of the whole project. Nice try but no cigar. Minnie Driver stars as the conniving Mona, the candidate least likely ever to be chosen Miss Congeniality. Obsessed from childhood with winning a contest, she spends most of her time trying to sabotage the chances of her many rivals. If the film had any real nerve, it would have gone all the way with this character and made her irredeemably ruthless, like Reese Witherspoon's irredeemable schemer in "Election." Instead, the script goes soft on Mona, trying to mitigate and justify her cruelty and self-centered whininess by showing what a miserable childhood she had at the hands of her white trash mother and stepfather. Real satire can only be biting and effective if it demonstrates the courage to stick to its guns. "Beautiful" keeps winking at the audience, telling us it isn't really serious about what it's attacking, assuring us that all will be well in the end. The detrimental effect on the film is thus two-fold: we hate Mona for being such an obnoxious crybaby and we hate her for turning all mushy in the end. This is what happens when sloppy filmmakers attempt such a challenging task as satire. This is particularly borne out in the fact that the various plot elements seem as if they belonged not only in different movies but on different planets. Do the filmmakers really think it is appropriate to inject the serious issues of euthanasia and false imprisonment into the trivial context of a wan little comedy about beauty pageants? The grinding of tonal gears that results from this mismatch brings the whole movie to a fatal reckoning early on. Driver does her best with an unappealing role, but Hallie Kate Eisenberg, as Mona's "illegitimate" daughter, ranges from teeth-grindingly cutesy to precociously obnoxious. Perhaps, it's all that overexposure she received in those soda commercials. The hopelessness of the whole enterprise is underlined by the ludicrousness of the film's fairy tale ending, which defies credibility on so many levels that all we can do is throw up our hands in dismay and disgust. Not that it matters much in the long run. Our hands have been in that position from the very start anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Field, Driver Make It "Beautiful"
Review: Sometimes wanting something so badly can bind a person to the fact that they already possess that which is worth so much more than what they desire. But obsession forges the path of narrow-mindedness and erects walls that block the peripheral vision, preventing recognition of that which really matters, all of which a young woman may or may not discover in "Beautiful," directed by Sally Field, and starring Minnie Driver. Growing up in a somewhat less than loving home, Mona (Driver) channels all of her energy into making herself beautiful, determined to win the beauty contests that will lead her to her ultimate goal, to one day be crowned Miss American Miss. Along the way, however, in her single-minded pursuit of the crown, she loses sight of the fact that beauty must come from within as well as without. Luckily for Mona, she has a devoted friend, Ruby (Joey Lauren Adams), who manages to keep her on track for as long as she can. But a teenaged pregnancy suddenly puts a damper on Mona's plans; but even in this Ruby comes to her rescue, and for the next seven years raises Mona's daughter, Vanessa (Hallie Kate Eisenberg), as her own, which allows Mona to pursue her dream. Field proves she has what it takes as a director, as she delivers her story with sensitivity, while avoiding any maudlin sentimentality that would've sunk a movie like this right out of the chute. Happily, she presents it all with a straightforward, realistic tone and develops the characters in perfect sync with the time line of the plot, all of which makes for that necessary connection with the audience. And she perfectly treads a fine line with Mona that is integral to the success of the film. In light of the disregard Mona affords Ruby and Vanessa, it would be easy to dislike her out-of-hand; but Field takes great care to impart that side of Mona that elicits just enough sympathy to keep the ship afloat. It would be so easy to judge her and give up on her, but the way Field handles it, it's as if she's saying, "No, don't give up on her just yet. Wait and see..." And so, you wait and see, and in the end, it pays off. There are some memorable performances in this film, beginning with Colleen Rennison, who portrays the young Mona. Physically, they could not have found anyone better for this part (as is evidenced when Driver takes over; the resemblance is remarkable). But more than that, she captures the same emotional essence and attitudes of the character that Driver brings to Mona, and the fact that both actresses so accurately and believably maintain that same "sense" of her throughout the film is extraordinary, as is the seamless transition from from the young to the adult Mona. it's exceptional work by Driver, Rennison and Field that deserves singular recognition. The lion's share of the Mona character of course goes to Driver, who is-- quite simply-- terrific in the part. She has a way of making you know that there is more to Mona than the shallow exterior that is so apparent, and as the film progresses the internal changes she undergoes are so gradual, and presented by Driver with such subtle nuance, that it makes the character entirely believable. And regardless of the outcome of all that follows, ultimately you will be glad you took the time to get to know her. Adams gives a notable performance as well, playing Ruby with a sincerity that makes her the friend everyone should be lucky enough to have, and Eisenberg, as Vanessa, proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is much more to her than that which is indicated by the part that is her claim to fame, that of the "Pepsi Girl." Even at her tender age, she lends her character the personality, attitude and maturity that really makes it click. The supporting cast includes Kathleen Turner (Verna), Leslie Stefanson (Joyce), Bridgette Wilson (Lorna, "Miss Texas"), Kathleen Robertson (Wanda, "Miss Tennessee"), Michael McKean (Lance), Gary Collins (Pageant Host), Linda Hart (Nedra), Brent Briscoe (Lurdy) and Jacqueline Steiger (Young Ruby). An entertaining, engaging film, "Beautiful" is well made and delivered, and provides some insight into the human condition. It may not bring home any Oscars, but it is more than worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: Ex-Pageant competitors will find much to laugh at.
Review: The friendship depicted between characters played by Minnie Driver and Joey Lawrence add much to contemporary images of women's relationships, and the movie as a whole goes to challenge conventional notions of family, love, and commitment - all this, and pageants, too! It's fun, smart, even sweet. The thinly veiled references to the Miss America pageant (transformed here into the Miss American Miss) parody pageant culture as "Best in Show" parodies show-dog culture, dressing up feminist critique for a broader film viewing audience. ... ...
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good pageant movie
Review: This film accurately represents what many "pageant girls" do in order to win. Minnie Driver does a brilliant performance as Mona. The only reason this film annoyed me was that irritating Pepsi commerical twit, Hallie Kate Eisenberg. All I need is a burlap sack, some rope and a deep river for her. She is the reason I hate the movie theater. The movie is good...
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Flawed
Review: This film has a great actor/director, Sally Field (her directorial debut), and great acting, most notably Minnie Driver, Hallie Eisenberg as her kid, and the very effusive and wonderful Joey Lauren Adams (Mallrats, Chasing Amy). What it lacks is several rewrites on the screenplay. Minnie Driver plays "Mona", who from childhood wants to be a beauty queen. She has an unloving mom and an almost-molester step-dad. The film chronicles her life, up to the climactic win at the end. The plot has several implausiblities that defy belief. Mona has an out-of-wedlock child. Her roommate and childhood friend, Ruby (Adams), agrees to raise the child as her own, while still rooming with Mona. Since pagent queens can't have kids, Mona has to resort to this deceitful sceme. What we are led to believe is that her child, Vanessa (Eisenberg), who looks extremely like Mona, is never told that "Aunt Mona" is really her mom, and that Mona was able to live with Ruby and Vanessa, and keep pretending that her child is her "niece." To me, that alone makes Mona monstrous -- as a parent, I can't imagine screwing up my child's life like that and it being somehow an okay thing for Mona. On top of that, although the moments are comedic, Mona resorts to dirty-tricks throughout her rising beauty queen career. It may lead to funny moments on the screen, but it paints Mona as plain evil. As for Ruby, who keeps sacrificing for Mona, what could be motivating her? Other than getting the feel-good aspects of parenting Vanessa, and participating in that deceit against Vanessa, Mona keeps taking, and Ruby keeps giving. (Spoiler follows, stop here if you don't want the ending) Finally, the ending would have us believe that with the local newswoman about to break the news that Mona is a mom, Mona is on stage, answering an insipid pagent question: "What quality do you like about yourself," when she confesses that Vanessa (in the audience) is her child. We are finally led to believe that due to the pagent's phone banks being flooded with positive calls, the pagent will waive its rules, allow Mona to take the crown, and let her walk down the runway with crown, and a large awkward Vanessa on her hip. Oy vey. In summary, the acting is good, the comedy is funny, but the plot is unbelieveable and the character of Mona was plain evil. Does Sally Fields want the message of this film to be that you can be as deceitful and evil as you want to be, as long as you have an endearing tearful acceptance speech at the end? (for a better beauty pagent movie, check out Sandra Bullock's "Miss Congeniality")
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