"Сұлулық сайысының қаралы комедиясы"

1999 American black comedy film

Drop Dead Gorgeous is a 1999 American satirical mockumentary black comedy film directed by Michael Patrick Jann and written by Lona Williams. It stars Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Barkin, Brittany Murphy, Allison Janney, Denise Richards, Kirstie Alley, and Amy Adams in her film debut. The film follows a small town beauty pageant and the fierce, deadly lengths the contestants will take to secure the crown. Though the film was not a box office success and was initially met with mixed critical reviews, it has gained a following over time and is now regarded as a cult film.

In 1995, the small, conservative town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, is preparing for the annual Sarah Rose Cosmetics American Teen Princess Pageant. A film crew is in town to document the pageant and its lead up. One of the interviewees is 17 year old Amber Atkins, who signs up for the pageant in the hopes of winning a college scholarship and following in the footsteps of her idol Diane Sawyer. Among the other contestants are Rebecca ("Becky") Leeman, the daughter of the richest man in town. Becky's mother Gladys is the head of the pageant organizing committee and a former winner. Because of the business connections between the Leemans' furniture store and the pageant judges, many fear the contest will be rigged. In the days leading up to the pageant, many odd events occur around town, such as contestant Tammy Curry being killed when her threshing machine explodes, and the death of a boy Becky liked who was interested in Amber, which is ruled as a hunting accident. Amber considers dropping out when her mother Annette’s trailer explodes but remains in the competition to make her mother proud. At the dress rehearsal, a stage light knocks out contestant Jenelle Betz and renders her deaf. On the night of the pageant, Amber's dance costume disappears. She accuses Becky of stealing it and they have a catfight backstage. Pageant choreographer Chloris Klinghagen gives Amber a new costume; however, organizer Iris Clark says she can't perform as the new costume was not approved weeks ago. Amber's fellow contestant, Lisa Swenson, takes pity on her and drops out to give her an approved costume. Amber is able to perform her tap dance number and receives a standing ovation. For her performance, Becky sings "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" while dancing with a life sized Jesus doll on a crucifix, which amuses and horrifies the audience. The pageant announces the winners: cheerleader Leslie Miller is second runner up, Amber is first runner up, and Becky wins. During Becky's victory parade the next day, she is killed in a freak accident when her elaborate swan float bursts into flames and explodes. A grief stricken Gladys flies into a blind rage, admitting to being responsible for all the shenanigans, and is immediately arrested. Amber is crowned the new pageant winner. At the state competition, Amber wins the title by default after the other contestants get food poisoning. She receives an all expenses paid trip to the national pageant as a prize, but upon arrival, she and the other state winners are devastated to find that Sarah Rose Cosmetics was shut down for tax evasion, meaning there will be no national pageant. This sends all the contestants except Amber into a rage fueled rampage where they vandalize the company’s property. A few years later, Gladys escapes from prison and becomes involved in a police standoff at the Mount Rose supermarket, declaring her intent to take revenge on Amber. During the six hour standoff, a television reporter at the scene is hit by a stray bullet. Amber quickly picks up the microphone and takes over to report the story, impressing the news station with her poise and confidence. Amber becomes co anchor of the evening news for Minneapolis–St. Paul WAZB TV, thus fulfilling her dream of possibly becoming the next Diane Sawyer.

The movie is set in the fictional town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, which in turn is based on Rosemount where writer Lona Williams grew up. The film was originally titled "Dairy Queens" but was changed for legal reasons. The characters in the movie all sport exaggerated, over the top parodies of Minnesota accents. The film was shot throughout the Carver County area, mainly in Waconia, Minnesota, although names of real Minnesota communities were shown on the sashes of contestants later in the movie. News reporter Diane Sawyer is mentioned throughout the film as Kirsten Dunst's character Amber Atkins's idol, as Sawyer was a former beauty pageant winner. Amber's other idols include her beauty pageant mother who raised her alone in a trailer park, and the previous year's pageant winner who is hospitalized for anorexia. Competing in the beauty pageant for a scholarship is juxtaposed against the opportunities that boys have in leaving Mount Rose, such as hockey scholarships and prison. Two Melissa Manchester songs are featured in the film as songs used in the talent portion by contestants. Mary lip syncs "Don't Cry Out Loud", while Jenelle sings and signs "Through the Eyes of Love". Fanfare for the Common Man is played to introduce the parade for the rigged competition and the plight of Hank.

The film received mostly mixed reviews. Allison Janney and Denise Richards in particular received praise for their performances from a number of critics. Dennis Harvey of Variety called the film "a fitfully amusing satire that would have gained a lot of mileage from just a tad more subtlety." Roger Ebert liked the idea of the film, but wrote that the script failed to translate to the screen and was not funny enough, due to subtle miscalculations of production and performance. Jeff Vice of the Deseret News criticized the film for being derivative, comparing it to the 1975 pageant comedy Smile, the 1996 film Fargo, and the mockumentary Waiting for Guffman. Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D grade, and compared the film unfavorably to Smile and The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom.