History YMMV / MissCongeniality

* HilariousInHindsight: Miss Texas mentions in a flirty way that she hopes next year's host will be Music/RickyMartin, who came out of the closet in 2010.

* HollywoodHomely: Sandra Bullock makes a very unconvincing tomboy, though one could argue that that's the point; Grace is still an attractive woman behind her gruff attitude. It's mostly her [[UnkemptBeauty unkempt appearance]], [[LowerClassLout crass manners]], and [[OneOfTheGuys aggressive demeanor]] that puts other people off. That said, she is picked because they find she looks attractive in a swimsuit - the GirlinessUpgrade is necessary for her to pass for a pageant contestant.

* GeniusBonus: The title actually works on two levels: On the one hand, it's an ironic title to grant the harsh-tempered, argumentative tomboy Gracie, as congeniality can mean "Of a pleasant disposition; friendly and sociable." However, if one researches the criteria for the actual Miss Congeniality award, one discovers that Miss Congeniality "should pay more attention to others than to herself," which Gracie does, in the course of protecting the other contestants from the terrorist threat. "Help others avoid disaster." Gracie pulls through again, especially as she develops a protective instinct towards them. "Spend your time during the pageant making friends and getting to know people." Her superiors have her chat up the other contestants to root out any potential suspects among them, and she starts to genuinely make friends among them. The last criterion, "Be a weak contestant," works as well, as Gracie was never intended to win the crown, only to get into the top five.

* LGBTFanbase: The first movie is a huge hit with queer audiences, due to both the pageant setting and Gracie's all-too-real struggle with gender expectations.

* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize: The movie has one rather surprising subversion regarding the pageant. The film naturally has to focus on an EconomyCast of about 6 or so of the pageant contestants; Gracie as Miss New Jersey and the winners from Rhode Island, California, Texas, Hawaii, and New York. They all naturally make it into the Top Ten, and all evidence would indicate that some combination of them would move on to the Final Five. However, when the Final Five are revealed, both Hawaii and New York are eliminated and the fifth spot is instead given to Miss '''Nebraska,'' who didn't have a speaking part and wasn't even named up to that point.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The second film's climax takes place during the "Battle at Buccaneer Bay"--a nightly show that occurred at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from 1993 to 2003. That show has since been replaced by the "Sirens of TI" (to further reinforce this trope, this film came out in March 2005), which also lasted for a decade before that show closed to make way for a Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibit.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and vaguely touching her crotch while she is training seems less like UnresolvedSexualTension or playing around, and instead workplace harassment.

** This movie tackles NotLikeOtherGirls in a pretty considerate, nuanced way, with Grace initially being scornful of the pageant contestants, but as she gets to know them she becomes good friends with several of them and gains a lot of respect for both the girls and herself in the process, as by the end of the movie she's still a badass FBI agent and considerably more well-groomed and refined, showing that you can be both and they are not mutually exclusive.
** The movie also brings up rape culture when a drunk Cheryl rather nonchalantly admits her college professor sexually assaulted her. When a horrified Grace asks if she reported him, Cheryl says she didn't and then adds, "I know that happens all the time!" Grace tells Cheryl in no uncertain terms that it does ''not'', that she should always report such things and then decides to try and teach Cheryl how to defend herself (though Cheryl passes out before she can get far), but Grace doesn't ever blame Cheryl for the incident or shame her for not telling anyone sooner, and Grace is inspired to use her training to do some impromptu self-defense lessons during the talent portion of the competition, so many young girls watching the show will see it and have something to fall back on.

** Gracie's eating disorder comment when she orders pizza for Cheryl- stating that Cheryl will "throw it up anyway" is very mean-spirited since eating disorders can be life-threatening.

-->'''Stanley''': Describe your perfect date.
-->'''Cheryl:''' That's a tough one. I'd have to say...April 25. It's not too hot, not too cold, all you need it a light jacket!

** The "Rain Man" statements made by both Gracie and Cheryl come off as being very ableist by today's standards.
** The eating disorder comment made by Gracie when she orders pizza for Cheryl- stating that Cheryl will "throw it up anyway" is very crude and mean-spirited since eating disorders can actually be life-threatening.
** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and vaguely touching her crotch while she is training seems less like UnresolvedSexualTension or playing around, and instead workplace harassment that Gracie would've reported if the movie was made today.

** April 25th is known on social media as "Miss Congeniality Day" after Miss Rhode Island's hilarious flub.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and vaguely touching her crotch while she is training seems less like [[UnresolvedSexualTension flirting]] or playing around, and instead workplace harassment that could've gotten Eric fired or demoted if reported nowadays.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and vaguely touching her crotch while she is training seems less like [[BelligerentSexualTension flirting]] or playing around, and instead workplace harassment that could've gotten Eric fired or demoted if reported nowadays.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and making an inappropriate gesture to her crotch while she is training seems less like [[BelligerentSexualTension flirting]] or playing around, and instead workplace harassment that could've gotten Eric fired or demoted if reported nowadays.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and making an inappropriate gesture to her crotch while she is training seems less like [[BelligerentSexualTension flirting]] or playing around, and instead workplace harassment that could've gone Eric fired or demoted if a outsider sees and reported it nowadays.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Miss New York causes a brief uproar by coming out on stage--"I just want to say to all the lesbians out there that if I can make it to the Top Ten, so can you!" [[https://ca.news.yahoo.com/newly-crowned-miss-missouri-erin-080000055.html Erin O'Flaherty]], Miss Missouri 2016, was the first openly gay Miss America contestant in the 2017 pageant.
* HilariousInHindsight: Miss Texas mentions in a flirty way that she hopes next year's host will be Music/RickyMartin. Martin came out as gay in 2010.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and making an inappropriate gesture to her crotch while she is training would never be tolerated if the movie was made today. Eric would have been fired or demoted and Gracie can file an lawsuit against the FBI, even in a male-dominated team.
* ValuesResonance: This movie tackles NotLikeOtherGirls in a pretty considerate, nuanced way, with Grace initially being scornful of the pageant contestants, but as she gets to know them she becomes good friends with several of them and gains a lot of respect for both the girls and herself in the process, as by the end of the movie she's still a badass FBI agent and considerably more well-groomed and refined, showing that you can be both and they are not mutually exclusive.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt and making an inappropriate gesture to her crutch while she is training would never be tolerated if the movie was made today. Eric would have been fired or demoted and Gracie can file an lawsuit against the FBI, even in a male-dominated team.

** Eric slapping on Gracie's butt while Gracie is training and making an inappropriate gesture towards her crouch would never be tolerated if the movie was made today. Eric would have been fired or demoted and Gracie can file an lawsuit against the FBI, even in a male-dominated team.

* HilariousInHindsight: Miss Texas mentions in a flirty way that she hopes next year's host will be Music/RickyMartin.