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Rated PG-13 for language and thematic elements RATING CANADA... Rated PG for light language. |
Comedy Sometimes what is really important in life is right under your nose. |
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It's 1986 and a young 12 year old Mona played by Collen Rennison wants to be a beauty queen to the exception of anything else. As we see, this is to compensate for a family that tends to ignore and berate her. Mona works at any job she can get to earn money to fix up her appearance, such as fixing her teeth and to take pageant classes to improve her abilities as a contestant. Her young friend Ruby (Jacqueline Steiger) is a wiz at making costumes. They work hard at improving her chances at winning beauty contests. She does all this without any help from her parents. To enter her first contest she pays $135.00 but she loses. This of course makes her even more determined. Mona has been in 18 beauty contests and has yet to make it into the top 20 in any of them. She decides to join a class on model training run by the greedy Kathleen Turner. She learns but it is costly. Mona during this period begins to use dirty tricks to move ahead. Thanks to Ruby she does win first prize for the best outfit. Ruby and her grandmother keep Mona supplied with her outfits as long as she pays for the material. Mona works hard to see her dream come true. As Mona grows up she becomes Minnie Driver and the young Ruby becomes Joey Lauren Adams. Ruby is an incredible friend to Mona. Mona starts taking dance lessons and constantly brings up to keep her weight down. in 1992 Mona plays a dirty trick on a contestant that backfires and causes her to be ineligible to enter any more contests in her state. During all this Ruby is there by her side, not only to pep her up when her spirits are down but at one of the worst possible moments in Mona's life she steps in to solve a major problem. It seems Mona did whatever was necessary to move ahead. Now she is paying the price for it since a woman who is a mother can not enter Miss Beauty contests. When Mona gets pregnant Ruby takes the child as her own so no one will know and Mona can continue to obtain her life long desire to be a beauty queen. This deception really shows how cold Mona has become. It is clear that Mona is a petty, self absorbed immature woman, caring for no one but herself. Seven years later, 1999, Vanessa has grown up into a smart seven year old with a love hate relationship with Mona who is still single mindedly obsessed with winning a beauty contest. Ruby is now a nurse in a nursing home and spends her time taking care of Vanessa and stroking Mona's fragile ego. Finally Mona qualifies for the Miss America Miss finals and wins Miss Illinois. "Everyone of them except your daddy." Ruby is accussed in the mercy killing of one of her elderly patients. The patient had actually saved all her sleeping pills and took them all at once. During all these hardships Mona does not even seem to worry about Ruby. Her selfishness comes to the forefront once again as Mona seems to worry more about how she will do in the contests without Ruby, then worrying or showing any sensitivity towards Ruby's plight. While Ruby is in jail Vanessa has to live with Mona, but Vanessa hates being with her. It is surprising that no one seems to notice the resemblance between the two. Actually except for the curly hair both of them have there really is very little resemblance but hey it is a movie and we are supposed to see similarities. The only one who sees the similarities is Mona's mother when she finally visits her with Mona in tow. Her mother is sure that Vanessa is definitely Mona's daughter. Mona has seemed to totally divorce herself from the idea of Vanessa being her daughter. Since Ruby is not available Mona needs her mother to be at the Miss America Beauty contest for support. She does not want to go. Most of Mona's problems really go back to her upbringing. Field uses Mona's mom's inept childbearing and her indifference toward's her daughter to justify the total lack of morals that Mona seems to display. Except for Ruby she has only depended on herself and we see her really as an unsympathetic character. I think, that this is what Field intended, so that the film would not be labelled some kind of sugar sweet film. She has also lets us see that the real strength in this film is Ruby. She is intelligent, caring and understanding. Even while in jail she tries to shore up Mona's fragile ego. When we see these qualities it is hard to believe that Vanessa is not her real child as Vanessa tends to show similar qualities.. A reporter, Joyce Park is out to get Mona for some past indiscretion. She wants to see to it that she loses the Miss America contest. She begins to investigate her even to the point of visiting Ruby in jail. She begins to close in on the truth between Mona and Vanessa. While at the contest even Vanessa begins to question their relationship. The beauty contest begins and the the search for the truth also takes center stage. Will Mona's mother show up? Will Vanessa discover the truth? Does she really want to know the truth? Is Mona capable of a selfless act? Is Mona willing to give up everything she has worked so hard for? Will Joyce Park succeed in destroying Mona? Will Ruby get convicted? Will Mona win? Will we get a happy Hollywood ending? If you want the answers go see BEAUTIFUL. "I don't like myself but I'm going to." Despite the two hour long running time, BEAUTIFUL is an engaging movie that is sutiable for everyone. It is not going to be a major hit but when you have time go see it. Don't forget that popcorn. |
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