A film review by Gio Corsi Copyright © 1999 Gio Corsi

I love mockumentaries. Both WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and THIS IS SPINAL TAP are two of my favorite films, even moments in the dismal CB4 made me chuckle. But I heard nothing but negative news on DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, so I went in a not expecting a lot and got a lot of laughs instead.

Welcome to Mount Rose, Minnesota... population 5000. Denise Richards (WILD THINGS) plays Rebecca, the snobby daughter to the richest couple in town. Kirsten Dunst (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE) plays Amber, the tap-dancing girl from the wrong side of the tracks. These two girls with a slew of others join this years Cosmetic Beauty Pageant in the hopes of getting out of their backwater town and moving onto the bright lights of the big city. Slowly girls are killed off in various ways and as pageant night approaches all hell breaks loose. But luckily, a documentary film crew has come to town to film the entire pageant process from start to finish.

While the stars are good, there are a host of hilarious secondary characters who keep the film alive. Mindy Sterling (AUSTIN POWERS) plays the straight-edged, ass-kissing, right-hand-woman to the beauty pageant president and Rebecca's mom (Kristie Alley from TV's CHEERS), Ellen Barkin (SEA OF LOVE) plays Amber's Trailer Trash, hair-dressing, beer swilling mom, and Will Sasso (TV's MAD TV) plays the retarded son of one of the Pageant judges in what is most definitely the funniest character in the film. I couldn't help but laugh out loud anytime he was on screen because he was just so stupidly funny, you had to laugh. These three in fact, for me, made the movie.

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS does use a lot of Hollywood schmaltz to make it's way through two hours but there are still a lot of laughs and entertainment to be seen. I've read some reviews where it gets slammed for making fun of Midwesterner's accents and way of life but ofcourse they forget to mention that the story was written by a woman born and raised in Minnesota. Yeah, those are great reviews... for me to poop on. Both Richards and Dunst carry the film well adding good depth to their characters but it is truly the background actors and actions that make this film worth while. Like a good play, it's everything that's happening behind the main actors that make DROP DEAD GORGEOUS a guilty pleasure. It won't win any awards and it is nowhere near as good as WAITING FOR GUFFMAN but for me, the two minutes of film with Will Sasso and the smile on my face when I left the theatre was good enough for me.

	Running Time: 97 Min | Rated PG-13 | US Release: July 23rd | More >>

Related 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' Links:

• Official Site
• Final Cut: Drop Dead Gorgeous
• Ravecentral - Drop Dead Gorgeous
• Upcomingmovies.com: Drop Dead Gorgeous

The battle between the good and the bad is bound to get ugly.