Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

FBI Agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is just getting back into the swing of things after saving Miss USA (as recounted in Miss Congeniality). However, her relationship with Agent Matthews (played by Benjamin Bratt in the first film) is over and she is taking it hard. Then her cover is blown during an undercover op when a woman recognizes her. Hart’s boss, McDonald (Ernie Hudson) offers her the option of becoming the new face of the FBI. When Hart realizes this is her only choice, she goes for it.

 

Gracie gets her own entourage: a gay personal make-over artist, Joel (Dietrich Bader), a hair dresser, and make-up person. She also gets a body-guard, Agent Sam Fuller (Regina King). Fuller is in New York from Chicago to get an attitude adjustment: anger-management FBI style. It’s not going very well. When Gracie becomes obnoxious, Sam quits the detail. Gracie even writes a book, does book signings on the book store circuit– and gives advice to a young admirer on her grooming.

 

Then the action starts. Miss New York, Pam (Leslie Ann Grossman), and pageant host Stan Fields (William Shatner) are kidnapped in Las Vegas. The Bureau sends Hart, her entourage, and Fuller to Vegas to be the public face of the Agency, while the local field office, headed by Collins (Treat Williams), goes after the bad guys.

 

But Hart goes off on her own to save her pal Miss USA and the expected escapades commence.

 

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous is an OK film. I don’t think it’s as good as the first one; it’s a little too slow on the uptake. Should have been edited better and maybe less focused on teaching us something. It’s full of good morals, though, for its youthful female audience, with a subtle anti-violence message. Friendship, self-esteem, where true beauty lies, and anger control are also on the list. Oh, and world peace. Seriously.

 

While I hope there will not be Miss Congeniality 3 unless there is a script someone would want to give an award to, Agent Fuller’s imitation of Tina Turner is quite good (Regina King is an excellent actress) and the ending works pretty well when Gracie visits the school of her young friend from the book signing.

 

You know how they put all the good scenes in the trailers to entice us to see the movie? If they had edited this film as well as they edited the trailer, Miss Congeniality 2 would have been better for it.