Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
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A small-town beauty pageant becomes a deadly competition as contestants take extreme measures to win the crown.
The story
In 1995, the small, conservative town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, prepares for its annual local qualifying pageant for the national Sarah Rose Cosmetics American Teen Princess Pageant. A film crew arrives to document the event and its lead-up. Among the contestants is 17-year-old Amber Atkins, who enters the competition hoping to win a college scholarship and follow in the footsteps of her idol, Diane Sawyer. As the pageant approaches, the atmosphere becomes increasingly tense and dangerous, with various odd events occurring around town and among the participants as they compete for the ultimate title.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1995, in the town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, Amber Atkins enters a beauty pageant to win a scholarship. The competition is fraught with tension; several contestants face bizarre accidents, including a fatal explosion and a stage light that renders another contestant deaf. On the night of the pageant, Amber faces a costume crisis but eventually performs a tap dance to a standing ovation. Her rival, Becky, wins the title but is killed in a freak accident involving a flaming swan float the next day. The head of the committee, Gladys, is arrested for sabotaging the other contestants. Amber is crowned the winner and eventually becomes a news co-anchor. Years later, Gladys escapes from prison and engages in a police standoff at a local supermarket. During the standoff, Amber takes over as a reporter, successfully fulfilling her dream of becoming a news anchor like Diane Sawyer.
- Original title
- Dairy Queens
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 97
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Michael Patrick Jann
- Writers
- Lona Williams · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kirstie Alley; Ellen Barkin; Kirsten Dunst · Amber Atkins; Denise Richards; Brittany Murphy; Allison Janney; Amy Adams
- Genres
- mockumentary; black comedy; satire; teen comedy
- Themes
- ambition; class struggle; beauty standards
- Tone and mood
- satirical; dark; absurd
- Premise and plot tags
- beauty pageant; mockumentary; small-town life
- Reception
- The film was a box-office flop with mixed to unfavorable reviews, but it has gained a following over time and is regarded as a cult film.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 28 · scale: 100 · review count: 28
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled 'Dairy Queens'.; The characters use exaggerated, over-the-top parodies of Minnesota accents.; The film was shot in the Carver County area, mainly in Waconia, Minnesota.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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