Given it's ridiculous premise, 'Miss Congeniality' manages to deliver a fun movie.

Story

Gracie Hart is a tough FBI agent who has to go undercover in the Miss United States pageant as Miss New Jersey, to hunt down a domestic terrorist known as 'The Citizen."

The plot of this movie is ridiculously simple, it's a fish out of water story. At the beginning of the movie, Gracie is a tomboy with no life outside of her job, who doesn't care about her outward appearance and at the end of the movie, she's more put together, she has friends and learns that there is more to pageants than dresses and asking for world peace.

The villain's plan is a little Bond villain-ish, it's a little extreme if you ask me, but a movie with a ridiculous plot needs to have an equally outlandish and ridiculous villain to balance it. (I mean ridiculous in a good way)

Acting

Sandra Bullock is hilarious in this movie and this might be my favourite movie that she's done. Her character is relatable and for the most part, you understand her and root for her. Her lines and reactions, for the most part, are incredibly organic and real. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of her lines were improvised. Sandra Bullock has chemistry with anyone she's on screen with from Michael Caine and Benjamin Bratt to William Shatner and Candice Bergen.

The acting in this movie, for the most part, is consistent, and the actors have brilliant comedic timing especially Michael Caine who is known for his more dramatic roles, it's nice to see him in something different. You can tell that the actors in this film had fun making it, from their body language to the way their lines are delivered. Even the minor characters like the pageant girls have character (for the most part)

Writing/Direction 

This film is more plot driven than character driven as the main focus of the movie is the mystery at the end rather than the journey that Gracie and the other characters take. As I stated earlier, the plot is simple and also really bizarre but it works and that's down to the writing. Gracie's character is the most fleshed out (seeing as she is the main characters and some of the other characters suffer because of it) she has a real character arc and at the end of the story, she's in a different place from where she started, showing a real progression.

Donald Petrie directed this movie as well as 'Just My Luck' and 'How to Lose a guy in 10 Days'. It's clear that he's used to directing romantic comedies with unassuming leads. There isn't much to say about his directing style because there is nothing very distinct about it. There are a few visual cues throughout the film but they're noticeable until a second or third watch.

Score/Soundtrack

The soundtrack for this film is unintentionally hilarious. I have no idea if the Miss United States song actually exists but it made me laugh out loud every single time I heard it.

There's another song on the soundtrack that actually exists and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Here it is for your listening pleasure.

Everything about this song screams the early 2000s and how it was nominated is beyond me but it is catchy, I'll give it that.

Overall Thoughts 

Usually, when I watch a movie from the early 2000s, I find that they haven't aged well, that was the case with 'The Pagemaster' and 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie' but that hasn't happened with this movie. I found it just as entertaining now as I did when I saw it the first time and I developed a soft spot for it. Does it have its faults? Yes. It is entertaining as hell? Also yes.

This movie knows exactly what it is and never tries to be more than that. At times it doubles down on its own ridiculousness which makes it even more entertaining. And it gave us this iconic moment, so I count it as a win. I would happily see this meme every April 25th.