Highly Overrated But Still Good

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Yeah, something went horribly wrong. I gave this a 5 because it was terrible but I didn't add anybody to my list of people to avoid. 6 is the minimum rating I give for shows I'll re-watch, making 5 the max for the opposite.I can't even say it's worth seeing once. Indeed, if you liked the first one, maybe don't taint it by seeing the sequel. It has a great cast but it is just a big fail.

Sandra Bullock returns as FBI agent Gracie Hart, who is assigned to promote the FBI. While traveling around the country, Miss USA Cheryl Frazier (Heather Burns) and Stan Fields (William Shatner) are kidnapped, leading Gracie to investigate the abduction in Las Vegas, while going against the orders of the Las Vegas FBI Director Walter Collins.It was nice to see Bullock, Burns and Shatner return in this sequel; however, this film fell short in delivering comedy, an interesting story and notable action. Bullock and newcomer Regina King didn't work well together on screen; King was just too whiny. Treat Williams as Director Collins was just an arrogant jerk, whom I wished would have gotten a few whacks in the a$$ from Gracie.The cast didn't live up to the charm, humor and seriousness that made the first movie great. I felt that there was just more forced comedy and characters with lack of substance. Therefore, this is another example where the original film surpasses its sequel by wide margins.Grade D

Sandra Bullock returns as the FBI agent glammed up in the original movie to go undercover at a beauty pageant. This time, her exploits in the first episode have made her instantly recognisable to the public at large – something of a drawback when you're trying to work undercover. To overcome this problem, the agency makes her the face of the FBI, appearing in chat shows and at book signings, dressed up to the nines and totally losing touch with the real her. Only when her old friends Miss USA and William Shatner are kidnapped and held to ransom does she return to butt-kicking normal.The big idea here is to reverse the original film – glamorous personality becomes dressed-for-action cop – and as ideas go it's singularly dreary and unattractive. Miss Bullock is here given a testy fellow-agent with the unlikely name of Sam Fuller, and their relationship follows the timeworn mismatched buddy arc with such bovine lack of imagination that as I watched I half-expected the characters themselves to become as bored with each other as I had. Everyone involved up there on the screen seems to know exactly what is going on: a cynical attempt by the studio to cash in on an original that succeeded beyond their expectations. So keen were the accountants to capitalise on that success that they calculated the quota of laughs required is immaterial. I mean, why bother? Everybody remembers Miss Congeniality and how funny it was, that'll be more than enough to recoup the cost of the second-string cast and production costs, leaving the way clear to make a modest but commercially acceptable profit. After all, there's not many ask for their money back once they've been lured into the cinema…Bill Shatner might have been able to liven things up a little had he been given the chance, but his part is relegated to little more than half a dozen lines. Bullock looks like she's focusing on her next big part and can't wait to get this liability out of the way, while Treat Williams wonders where it all went wrong.

Talk about a lackluster sequel. Sandra Bullock is back as Gracie, a klutzy but shrewd FBI agent, this time on the trail of two friends who have been kidnapped. The trail leads to Vegas, which was a big mistake. Vegas is a poor choice for making a movie, with very rare exception. It's not a real city, and you can feel it. And the plot is all over the place, including having Bullock dress up as a Vegas showgirl for reasons I have mercifully, already forgotten. Benjamin Bratt is not in the sequel, which leaves Bullock with no one worth playing off here. And Bill Shatner as one of the kidnap victims has virtually no screen time, another huge mistake. Whoopi Goldberg made her Vegas-set comedy work with SISTER ACT. But Bullock, who I usually enjoy, cannot save this turkey. And a host of familiar faces, including Regina King, Eileen Brennan, Ernie Hudson, Liz Rohm and Treat Williams, are in all truth simply wasted here. MISS CONGENIALITY 2 is not quite as bad as Bullock's other big-name sequel, SPEED 2, but it's close.