Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
Director: John Pasquin
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Marciano, William Shatner, Heather Burns, Ernie Hudson, Treat Williams, Octavia Spencer, Elizabeth Rohm, John DiResta, Dolly Parton, Diedrich Bader
Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) was never thrilled to have to go undercover as a competitor in a beauty pageant. Now Gracie, who works for the FBI, is dealing with very public attention thanks to her waltz down the runway. Her beauty pageant winner status does not impress her new partner, Sam Fuller (Regina King), however, the ladies must put their differences aside when Cheryl Frasier (Heather Burns), the former Miss United States, turns up missing, and the FBI is put on the case.
Identity once again plays a powerful symbolic role in this film, and nowhere does this theme shine more perfectly, than in Gracie Hart, herself, and the journey she takes to truly understanding her own identity and being an inspiration to the next generation of women.
When the story begins, Gracie’s identity is uncertain…both as an FBI agent, and as a girlfriend for Eric Matthews, who helped Gracie save the day during the Miss United States Pageant. When Gracie’s secret identity is blown during a bank heist, it puts Gracie and her team in danger, to the point that her boss, Agent McDonald tells Gracie that she must face a difficult choice…to immerse herself once again into a life of glamour and grace – this time as the new face of the FBI – or to relinquish her role as a field agent and be shackled to a desk for the rest of her career. When her boyfriend sudden ends their relationship unexpectedly, Gracie finds herself heartbroken and alone…until she reads the letters from children who had seen her performance in the pageant. The children’s heartwarming letters inspire Gracie to choose which path her heart wants to follow.
Gracie’s identity as an agent is reshaped in two ways: with her new partner, Agent Sam Fuller, replacing Agent Matthews as her new partner…and with her new identity as the “face of the FBI.”
When she learns that Agent Matthews is not just leaving her, but the FBI as well, Gracie accepts her boss’s proposal for her to become the new face of the FBI. Gracie thought, that if she could inspire the next generation of women, her life would still be worthwhile, even if she couldn’t be on the front lines anymore. When Gracie encounters newcomer, Agent Sam Fuller (Regina King), whose smoldering anger is matched only by her contempt for having to play bodyguard to Gracie, who she feels is a spoiled and shallow beauty pageant winner, the ladies immediately clash. When Gracie’s pageant friend, Cheryl Frazier Heather Burns, and host, Stan Fields (William Shatner) are abducted, all of Gracie’s problems are forgotten and her only concern is to save her lost friend…even if that means having Agent Fuller as her new bodyguard.
Although she is repeatedly dismissed and told to just stand down and be a pretty face for the public to draw comfort and reassurance from, Gracie chooses to do what she does best to rescue her friends. Her first real moment of connection with Agent Fuller comes when they discern the truth from the abduction footage. Gracie pleads with Fuller to trust her and to help her save her friends. Later, Fuller lets down her guard a little bit, and both women share very intimate, childhood memories with each other; memories of their parents being their heroes, and a fragile bond is born between them. When the agents are caught by Collins, trying to take evidence from the Las Vegas FBI, they are told to return home. This time, it is Agent Fuller who chooses to trust Gracie, and help her rescue her friends. When they stage a fight, she tells Gracie that for the first time, in a long time, she feels like the real Grace Hart again …not the shallow, sparkly celebrity, but the fierce and courageous agent, who will give her all to protect her friends. In the end, their friendship is cemented by trust, respect, and sisterhood, when Fuller saves Gracie from the sinking ship, after Gracie risks her life to save her friends.
When Gracie meets a little girl named Priscilla, at a book signing, she has the perfect opportunity to be an inspiration to this little girl. Initially, Gracie doesn’t recognize this and says she is too busy to help the girl. Rather than agreeing to come to Priscilla’s school to prove to her bullies that being an agent is a worthy dream, she tells Priscilla that if she pulls her hair back, the bullies will leave her alone, “because people care about people, who care about themselves.” When she visits Priscilla’s class at the end, she shows Priscilla the real Gracie Hart…and she tells Priscilla that the best person she can be, is herself.
© 2022 Keriane Kellogg All Rights Reserved
Director: John Pasquin
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Marciano, William Shatner, Heather Burns, Ernie Hudson, Treat Williams, Octavia Spencer, Elizabeth Rohm, John DiResta, Dolly Parton, Diedrich Bader
Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) was never thrilled to have to go undercover as a competitor in a beauty pageant. Now Gracie, who works for the FBI, is dealing with very public attention thanks to her waltz down the runway. Her beauty pageant winner status does not impress her new partner, Sam Fuller (Regina King), however, the ladies must put their differences aside when Cheryl Frasier (Heather Burns), the former Miss United States, turns up missing, and the FBI is put on the case.
Identity once again plays a powerful symbolic role in this film, and nowhere does this theme shine more perfectly, than in Gracie Hart, herself, and the journey she takes to truly understanding her own identity and being an inspiration to the next generation of women.
When the story begins, Gracie’s identity is uncertain…both as an FBI agent, and as a girlfriend for Eric Matthews, who helped Gracie save the day during the Miss United States Pageant. When Gracie’s secret identity is blown during a bank heist, it puts Gracie and her team in danger, to the point that her boss, Agent McDonald tells Gracie that she must face a difficult choice…to immerse herself once again into a life of glamour and grace – this time as the new face of the FBI – or to relinquish her role as a field agent and be shackled to a desk for the rest of her career. When her boyfriend sudden ends their relationship unexpectedly, Gracie finds herself heartbroken and alone…until she reads the letters from children who had seen her performance in the pageant. The children’s heartwarming letters inspire Gracie to choose which path her heart wants to follow.
Gracie’s identity as an agent is reshaped in two ways: with her new partner, Agent Sam Fuller, replacing Agent Matthews as her new partner…and with her new identity as the “face of the FBI.”
When she learns that Agent Matthews is not just leaving her, but the FBI as well, Gracie accepts her boss’s proposal for her to become the new face of the FBI. Gracie thought, that if she could inspire the next generation of women, her life would still be worthwhile, even if she couldn’t be on the front lines anymore. When Gracie encounters newcomer, Agent Sam Fuller (Regina King), whose smoldering anger is matched only by her contempt for having to play bodyguard to Gracie, who she feels is a spoiled and shallow beauty pageant winner, the ladies immediately clash. When Gracie’s pageant friend, Cheryl Frazier Heather Burns, and host, Stan Fields (William Shatner) are abducted, all of Gracie’s problems are forgotten and her only concern is to save her lost friend…even if that means having Agent Fuller as her new bodyguard.
Although she is repeatedly dismissed and told to just stand down and be a pretty face for the public to draw comfort and reassurance from, Gracie chooses to do what she does best to rescue her friends. Her first real moment of connection with Agent Fuller comes when they discern the truth from the abduction footage. Gracie pleads with Fuller to trust her and to help her save her friends. Later, Fuller lets down her guard a little bit, and both women share very intimate, childhood memories with each other; memories of their parents being their heroes, and a fragile bond is born between them. When the agents are caught by Collins, trying to take evidence from the Las Vegas FBI, they are told to return home. This time, it is Agent Fuller who chooses to trust Gracie, and help her rescue her friends. When they stage a fight, she tells Gracie that for the first time, in a long time, she feels like the real Grace Hart again …not the shallow, sparkly celebrity, but the fierce and courageous agent, who will give her all to protect her friends. In the end, their friendship is cemented by trust, respect, and sisterhood, when Fuller saves Gracie from the sinking ship, after Gracie risks her life to save her friends.
When Gracie meets a little girl named Priscilla, at a book signing, she has the perfect opportunity to be an inspiration to this little girl. Initially, Gracie doesn’t recognize this and says she is too busy to help the girl. Rather than agreeing to come to Priscilla’s school to prove to her bullies that being an agent is a worthy dream, she tells Priscilla that if she pulls her hair back, the bullies will leave her alone, “because people care about people, who care about themselves.” When she visits Priscilla’s class at the end, she shows Priscilla the real Gracie Hart…and she tells Priscilla that the best person she can be, is herself.
© 2022 Keriane Kellogg All Rights Reserved