Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
In a small Minnesota town, the annual beauty pageant is being covered by a TV crew. Former winner Gladys Leeman wants to make sure her daughter follows in her footsteps; explosions, falling lights, and trailer fires prove that. As the Leemans are the richest family in town, the police are pretty relaxed about it all. Despite everything, main rival (but sweet) Amber Atkins won't give up without a fight.
Drop Dead Gorgeous is a sharp, gleefully mean-spirited mockumentary satire that skewers small-town Americana and beauty pageant culture with real wit. The ensemble cast is a standout — Kirsten Dunst, Kirstie Alley, Allison Janney, and Ellen Barkin all deliver committed, funny performances that elevate the material considerably, earning a well-above-average acting score. The mockumentary format was not especially novel by 1999 (This Is Spinal Tap, Best in Show territory), and the film plays it fairly straight without reinventing the form, so Novelty lands as average. The faux-documentary cinematography is functional but deliberately lo-fi and unremarkable by design, keeping Cinematography below average. The plot is episodic and somewhat meandering as it cycles through increasingly dark set pieces, though it holds together well enough. The ending wraps things up satisfyingly but not memorably, landing above average without being genuinely surprising.