Smile

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dave s In today's world, it would seem that beauty pageants would be an easy target for satiric ridicule. Not so in 1975, however, when pageants ruled. Michael Ritchie's Smile sets its sights on the Young American Miss Pageant, where the head judge, Big Bob (Bruce Dern), does his best to ensure an inspiring show for the folks of Santa Rose, California. For the most part, it's a light-hearted romp through the behind-the-scenes drama of the quest for the title of Miss California with some decent laughs and a handful of touching moments. The film works best when focusing on the hapless and hopeless contestants but too often wanders into territory beyond the pageant, which tends to suck some of the life out of things. Regardless, it's an enjoyable, if not forgettable, viewing experience. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member With little love for the subjects its skewers, this so-so satire—just funny enough to leave you with the title, if not sharp enough to leave you with a lasting impression—takes aim at provincial patriarchy without recognizing its own role in reproducing the same structures the film wants to critique (clearly a result of having only men behind the camera), as evidenced by the lecherous shot of a naked seventeen-year-old that lingers under the closing credits. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The best comedy movie ever made! With the best movie sing ever sung: the title song! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review scott m I thought it was dull. I skipped through most of it. I think it needed more humor. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This was a film I'd always known about but never seen, but I think a case could be made that is is a hidden classic of the 1970s. The surface level story is a group of teen contestants at the California Young American Miss beauty pageant. The film's very reminiscent of Robert Altman's multi-character layered films, with an entraining surface story but a bitting subtext. Longer before Honey Boo Boo or Dance Mom's, Michael Ritchie used the teen girl beauty pageant as a biting satire of American's commercial and superficial values. The film was directed by Michael Ritchie, who made some of other classics like "The Candidate," "Prime Cut" and what I consider the greatest sports movie of all-time, "The Bad News Bears." The film was written by Jerry Belson, who I'd never heard of before, but looking at his IMDB page, he had some excellent TV writing credits that range from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" to "The Tracey Ullman Show" and also includes films like "Always" and uncredited work on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." So don't be fooled by this films' seemingly light tale of mean girl beauty pageant contestants, because this film is a whole lot more. Top all that off with an incredibly strong cast that includes Bruce Dern, Barbara Feldon, Michael Kidd, Geoffrey Lewis, Paul Benedict and Dennis Dugan. And among the then unknown parent girls you have the soon-to-be-famous Melanie Griffith, Colleen Camp, Annette O'Toole and also Denise Nickerson, who played Violet Beauregarde in "Willy Wonka and the chocolate Factory" and Caroline Williams who was on some iconic horror parts in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2." The film was also shot by the great Conrad L. Hall, shot through a gauzy look. I also have to say I quite liked the soundtrack to this film too, which apparently is what held up the release of this film on home video for years. If you're fan of the subversively smart films that came out of Hollywood in the 70s or consider yourself a fan of Altman-style of films, you should definitely check out this film. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member While the sexism is era-appropriate, it appears to be called a satire solely to explain how offensive and horrible of a file it was. The acting was good, but the script, soundtrack, and story were awful. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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