YMMV / Miss Congeniality

• Critical Dissonance: Reviews were mixed to negative, but it was a financial hit with a dedicated fanbase.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Miss Texas due to being a Southern Belle Lovable Alpha Bitch who gets a lot of good lines.
  • Large Ham, Nice Guy host Stan Fields.
• First Installment Wins: The first film had mixed reviews but is still generally considered the best out of the two.
• Genius Bonus: The title 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, the criteria for the actual Miss Congeniality award states she "should pay more attention to others than to herself," which Gracie does by protecting the other contestants from the terrorist threat. "Help others avoid disaster." Gracie pulls through again 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 with the other contestants to root out any potential suspects among them, and she becomes friends with them. The last criterion, "Be a weak contestant," works as well, as the FBI never intended to have Gracie win the crown, only to get into the top five.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: Miss New York causes a brief uproar by coming out as lesbian 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!" Erin O'Flaherty, Miss Missouri 2016, was the first openly gay Miss America contestant in the 2017 pageant.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Miss Texas mentions in a flirty way that she hopes next year's host will be Ricky Martin, who came out of the closet in 2010.
  • William Shatner and Candice Bergen co-starring together four years before Boston Legal. And Bergen’s character is the one who commits a crime!
• Hollywood Homely: 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 unkempt appearance, crass manners, and aggressive demeanor that put other people off. That said, the FBI picked her because they found out she looks attractive in a swimsuit - the Girliness Upgrade is necessary for her to pass for a pageant contestant.
• LGBT Fanbase: 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.
• Love to Hate: Candice Bergen makes Cathy Morningside such a fantastic Deadpan Snarker that she's hilarious to watch.
  "This is Texas! Everyone has a gun. My florist has a gun."
• Memetic Mutation:
  • April 25th is unofficially "Miss Congeniality Day" after Miss Rhode Island's hilarious flub.
    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 lyrics to the "Miss United States" song are often quoted in reference to women doing something awesome, with a key alteration to the last line.
    "She's beauty and she's grace, she'll hit you in the face."
• Sequelitis: The second movie was considered a big step down from the original; this is one of at least two times where Sandra Bullock found herself in a film that contracted this trope, with the other being Speed 2: Cruise Control.
• Signature Scene:
  • The first movie has several, though Gracie teaching the "SING" technique probably takes the cake.
  • The scene in which Sam Fuller (as a Recursive Crossdressing Tina Turner impersonator) belts out her performance of Turner's cover of "Proud Mary" is what some (if not most) people remember more than anything from the sequel.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The second film's climax happens during the "Battle at Buccaneer Bay"—a nightly show at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas that played from 1993 to 2003. "Sirens of TI" (which came out in March 2005) replaced that show, 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.
• Unnecessary Makeover: At least as far as the She Cleans Up Nicely Beautiful All Along angle the film tries to push. Some viewers think Hart looks very beautiful (if unkempt) before the makeover, regardless of what the other characters say. That said, her makeover is justified by the plot since she needs to be top-five potential for the biggest beauty contest in the country, and that requires a lot of polish.
• Values Dissonance:
  • Gracie's and Cheryl's "Rain Man" comments come off as being very ableist by today's standards.
  • 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. (It could be interpreted as a crack about Cheryl being a lightweight, but it's not clear which was the intended joke.)
  • Eric slapping Gracie's butt and vaguely touching her crotch while she is training seems less like Unresolved Sexual Tension or playing around and instead workplace harassment.
• Values Resonance:
  • This movie tackles Not Like Other Girls in a considerate, nuanced way, with Grace initially scornful of the pageant contestants. As she gets to know them, she becomes good friends with several of them and gains respect for the girls and herself. By the end, she's still a badass FBI agent and considerably more well-groomed and refined, showing you can be both.
  • 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 and that she should always report such things. She even tries to teach Cheryl how to defend herself (though Cheryl passes out before she can get far). Yet Grace doesn't ever blame Cheryl for the incident or shame her for not telling anyone sooner. Grace is even inspired to use her training to do some impromptu self-defense lessons during the talent portion of the competition so young girls watching the show will have something to fall back on.

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