Line #11 YMMV/DropDeadGorgeous


1	* AccidentalAesop: If you see an upset person in a hospital, don't tell them to cheer up.
2	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
3	** Whether it was [[spoiler:Gladys]] or [[spoiler:Becky]] who shot [[spoiler:Becky's crush Brett]] is slightly ambiguous.
4	** Becky is a pretty nasty victory-obsessed person, but does she have a FreudianExcuse from being raised by a CuteAndPsycho StageMom or does being an AlphaBitch and possible murdereress come naturally to her?
5	* {{Anvilicious}}: The film pulls no punches in showing the kind of toxic behavior and potentially life-wrecking consequences beauty pageants can cultivate.
6	* CrossesTheLineTwice:
7	** The 1945 contestant winner tells of how she won when America was at war with Japan, which ends with her lamenting how she was forced to hand over her tiara so the metal could be used to manufacture weapons. Cut to a grinning Japanese family living comfortably in America, as if to say it was all for nothing.
8	*** "Speak ''English'' you stupid little retard!". Spoken by a father to his own daughter.
9	** Judge John Dough constantly insisting that he's not a pedophile.
10	** "And so, dear Lord, it is with deep sadness that we turn over to you this young woman, whose dream to ride on a giant swan resulted in her death. Maybe it is your way of telling us... to buy American."
11	** Lisa yelling at her dad that her brother is gay after being negatively compared to him one times too many.
12	** Gladys murders a newswoman on live television. Amber immediately takes advantage of the sudden job vacancy and gets promoted to anchorwoman. Due to all the on-screen violence having a desensitizing effect on the documentary crew, this is treated as an uncomplicated happy ending.
13	* CultClassic: The film was both a financial and critical failure in theaters, but has since gained appreciation for its dark humor and quirky characters.
14	* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Dog-lover Tess is socially awkward, obsesses over dogs and generally does pretty badly at the entire pageant. She may have undiagnosed Autism.
15	* EndingFatigue: The movie goes on an insanely long time after the murder mystery is wrapped up.
16	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
17	** Hank. Putting aside the ableist humour that's sent his way, he does get some good moments such as the childish fight he has with his brother and his over-enthusiastic applauding.
18	** Loretta, DeadpanSnarker Extraordinaire.
19	** Ditzy Leslie, for some of the best laughs among the contestants, being is generally nice to the others and being the debut role of Creator/AmyAdams. It's easy to forget she has less than five minutes worth of dialogue.
20	* HarsherInHindsight:
21	** Leslie Miller (the Amy Adams character) is portrayed as a lovable DumbBlonde stereotype who pays her way through college by table dancing. [[spoiler: [[DisposableSexWorker The documentary crew states that she disappeared and ask for information on her whereabouts]].]]
22	* HilariousInHindsight: [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Mary Jane Watson]] and [[Film/ManOfSteel Lois Lane]] competing in a beauty contest together!
23	* IronWoobie: Amber is a trailer park kid working two jobs who just wants to improve her situation in life but has to deal with constant and mean-spirited sabotage, the murder of her crush, her mother being horribly injured in a bombing (which nearly makes her quit the pageant), and the apparent loss of her dream, just before the ending gives her another chance. Throughout it all, she never stops being pleasant and practical.
24	* LesYay: Between Amber and Lisa, when Lisa gives up her costume so the former of the two can compete. They even kiss each other on the cheek!
25	* LoveToHate: Creator/KirstieAlley as Gladys Leeman. A holier than thou manipulator who would endanger the lives of working-class teenage girls just to prop up her own spoilt daughter. Given Amber is a PinballProtagonist and the other contestants don't get enough of a chance to shine, Gladys tends to be one of the more memorable characters.
26	* MemeticMutation: "Are we on COPS?"
27	* {{Moe}}:
28	** Amber. Her wholesome demeanor, [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Girl]] moments, and the nice way her SmallTownBoredom is handled all help, but mainly it's down to the bright and hopeful performance of Creator/KirstenDunst.
29	** Lisa, with her odd laugh, desire to move to New York, the affectionate way she talks about her gay brother, and how she sacrifices her own chance to win the pageant to help Amber.
30	** Tess for some, due to being a WideEyedIdealist and TheChewToy, plus really, really liking German Shepherds.
31	* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome:
32	** The judges' interviews with the contestants turns out to be rigged against Amber as while the other contestants get banal interview questions, Amber has to list all of the United States in alphabetical order. She does it anyway and gets it right in under 4 minutes.
33	** Amber's tap dance is pretty dang good.
34	* NauseaFuel: Annette's hand melted into a beer can. Turned up a notch when she drinks some of the remaining beer in it.
35	* OneSceneWonder: TomboyWithAGirlyStreak pageant contestant Tammy Curry is only onscreen for about a minute, but is decently memorable.
36	* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/AmyAdams!
37	* SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct: Creator/DeniseRichards surprisingly holds her own amongst the rest of the cast.
38	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
39	** While the film probably did need to kill off one of the contestants to establish the intrigue and high stakes, it might have been nice watching athlete, FarmersDaughter, and GunNut Tammy Curry competing in the pageant throughout the whole film instead of dying right away.
40	** Tortured actress Michelle is easily the least prominent and fleshed out of the non-SacrificialLamb contestants. Some fans would have liked seeing more about her life outside of the pageant and BadBadActing in the talent portion of the contest.
41	** Molly's adopted sister Tina, TheUnfavorite, only has one or two lines of dialogue and isn't one of the pageant contestants. She could have had an interesting SiblingRivalry subplot with Molly as they competed and provided some interesting moments with a competitor in a PatrioticFervor-themed pageant who hates living in America and prefers to speak Japanese. There was also potential for her and Molly to find a CommonalityConnection, given how Molly has a ForeignCultureFetish for Japan despite her adopted parents' having a similar fetish for America.
42	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue only covers a few characters and could have gone a lot further in wrapping up interesting subplots (Lisa wanting to go to New York, Dough being a ephebophile frightened of exposure, Michelle wanting to act, Tina wanting to go back to Japan, Jenelle adapting to being deaf, Lester dealing with [[spoiler:his disgrace and the loss of his family]], etc.).
43	* ValuesDissonance: The idea that poor Hank is merely used as the butt of jokes (continually called a "'retard'") and even physically hurt by others is beyond mean-spirited and ableist on so many levels by today's standards. [[NiceGirl Amber]] is one of the only characters who doesn't use the word "retard".
44	* TheWoobie:
45	** Jenelle, who gets brained by a stage light that was rigged to fall on Amber until Jenelle asked to switch places.
46	** Mary was pressured into getting as skinny as possible for her pageant, to the point where she developed an eating disorder that she's suffering from a year later. Seeing Gladys take the tiara off Mary and give it to her daughter just shows how this poor girl's life was ruined for a fleeting victory.

Context YMMV / DropDeadGorgeous