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Miss Juneteenth

Play trailer 1:52 Poster for Miss Juneteenth 2020 1h 43m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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99% Tomatometer 149 Reviews 56% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the "Miss Juneteenth" pageant.
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Miss Juneteenth

Miss Juneteenth

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Critics Consensus

Like a pageant winner walking across the stage, Miss Juneteenth follows a familiar path -- but does so with charm and grace.

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Critics Reviews

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Melanie Hoyes Sight & Sound 01/27/2021
A joyful observation of Black lives, timely in this moment of global protest against racial injustice. Go to Full Review
Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 01/27/2021
4/5
Carl Jung's claim that the greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of its parents is rigorously tested, and validated, by this perfectly formed heartbreaker from the debut director Channing Godfrey Peoples. Go to Full Review
Donald Clarke Irish Times 01/27/2021
3/5
The film buzzes with life and sincere feeling. The performances resonate like a struck bell. But a few too many questions are left unasked. Go to Full Review
Isobel Nutbrown Loud and Clear Reviews 01/18/2025
4/5
Miss Juneteenth is both an intimate illustration of a mother’s love and a much-needed education on the struggles facing the working-class Black community in the modern US. Go to Full Review
Geoffrey Macnab iNews.co.uk 01/16/2025
4/5
This is a slow-burning, well-observed story explores race, small-town angst and shattered hopes. Go to Full Review
Brandon Stanwyck InSession Film 07/16/2024
I’ve been a fan of Nicole Beharie since the first episode of Sleepy Hollow aired, and I’m so glad that a feature film finally gave her the opportunity to showcase her craft. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Kimberly B 06/26/2021 I loved that the movie showed Turrquoise as a real person that remained true to herself. She did not let her past deter her desire for success for herself and her daughter. See more Billy B @RT08961928 Oct 5 Anytime you see a movie that the lame a$$ critics are all to afraid to say anything negative. PASS on that mess. I guarantee you that the majority of those critics never watched the movie . See more PL W @RT12021233 Aug 17 Way tp predictable … don’t waste your time See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 2 Success in 1 hour and 43 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $86,300.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Nicholas C @RT14699610 05/16/2024 There was no acting in this movie. And the fact that rotten tomatoes had me, click an extra couple of clicks to get to this shows me that they are justice terrible as this movie. We only have so much time on this Earth. Don't waste your time with this movie. No acting nothing. See more michael d @RT16138633 09/05/2022 'Juneteenth' is a celebration of the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas learned they were free - two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 'Miss Juneteenth' is a film based around a beauty contest for teenagers marking the occasion. Turquoise Jones (Nicole Beharie) won the contest, but was unable to complete her reign due to getting knocked up with daughter Kai (Alexis Chikaeze). Fifteen years later - with an eye to the prize of a scholarship to an 'historically black' university or college - she pressures Kai to take part in the pageant, but is so distracted with Kai's sexy but bad-boy father; with her alcoholic, religious mother; and with just making ends meet, that she does not fully appreciate Kai's reluctance. It is unusual that a film centered around a beauty pageant contains no discussion of the 'cattle market' variety. Inevitably there *are* some racial politics ("There ain't no American dream for black folk") but the centre of the film is undoubtedly Turquoise's determination that Kai should enter the pageant as a means of securing her future. The relationship between mother and daughter is nicely portrayed: they may sometimes get on each other's nerves, but disputes never last long and usually end with smiles. This is an example of one of the film's main strengths: it could easily have descended into soap opera histrionics, but every time the viewer fears a scene is going to dissolve into tears and shouting, writer/director Channing Godfrey Peoples dials things back down to have her characters behaving like real people - full of faults, but for the most part good folk. In this she is aided by Beharie - her performance as the determined, realistic Turquoise is naturalistic and engaging. Chikaeze also does well - when she delivers her entry in the pageant's talent competition the viewer wants to stand up and cheer. Mischievously, I note that at a time when the Oscars are refusing to consider films that do not include a certain diversity of ethnic involvement, 'Miss Juneteenth' contains only one speaking role for a white actor (a grumpy shop assistant who appears in only two scenes). But for this viewer the important thing is whether or not a film is enjoyable - and this one certainly was. See more Read all reviews
Miss Juneteenth

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Movie Info

Synopsis A former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the "Miss Juneteenth" pageant.
Director
Channing Godfrey Peoples
Producer
Neil Creque Williams, James M. Johnston, Jeanie Igoe, Toby Halbrooks, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page
Screenwriter
Channing Godfrey Peoples
Distributor
Vertical Entertainment
Production Co
Sailor Bear, Ley Line Entertainment
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 19, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 19, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$86.3K
Runtime
1h 43m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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