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Release: 2000, Destination Starring: Minnie Driver, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Joey Lauren Adams, Kathleen Turner, Bridgette Wilson Director: Sally Field MPAA Rating: [PG-13] language, sexuality Genre: Comedy/Drama Sometimes you have to give up the life of your dreams, to discover the dream of your life... | |||||||||
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Mona (Driver) has wanted to be a beauty queen all her life. With the help of her best friend (Adams) and a little girl (Eisenberg), she takes a shot at the title of Miss America Miss, but along the way learns about herself and the priorities in her life.
In spite of being simplistic, Beautiful is a funny, touching tear-jerker thanks to the chemistry between Minnie Driver and her young co-star, Hallie Eisenberg.
Beautiful is a story about family, goals, and self-esteem, and is a wonderfully weaved tale from Sally Field in her directorial debut. As the movie opens, we are introduced to young Mona Hibbard (Minnie Driver), a motivated girl who dreams of becoming a beauty queen, in spite of the fact that she's not everyone's definition of the traditional beauty. But Mona has determination, so she saves up money from various entrepreneurial endeavors and enrolls herself in beauty schools and local pageants. But life is rough, and nothing comes easy for Mona. She's never really a winner at the pageants, she doesn't get along with the other kids, and her mother neglects her and refuses to support her dreams. In fact, the only friend Mona has in the whole world is another girl who's a bit of a social outcast, Ruby (Joey Lauren Adams). Ruby's creative and compassionate nature make her a perfect match for Mona, and soon Ruby is helping Mona by designing dresses for her and being her partner in crime. The movie then skips ahead some fifteen years... Mona and Ruby are both adults, but they haven't changed much. Mona, while being blessed with beauty more in womanhood than adolescence, still has a crummy family life, and is still obsessed with being a beauty queen. Ruby is still her sidekick and acts as her humble fashion consultant, but she also works at the local convalescent home, tending to the elderly. The only major change, though, is that Mona has had an illegitimate daughter, Vanessa (Hallie Kate Eisenberg). Knowing that her status as a mother--and an unmarried one at that--would destroy her beauty queen career, Mona and Ruby both decide it would be best if Vanessa was raised as Ruby's daughter. It all seems to work out perfectly. Mona, who is too self-absorbed to care about anyone else, would never work out as a mother; and Ruby, who revels in taking care of people, seems to be perfect for the role. Vanessa, completely oblivious to the nature of her real mother, doesn't like Mona anyway, and only perceives her as her mom's bratty best friend who comes around whenever she wants something. But disaster befalls the trio when an old woman at Ruby's work dies, and circumstantial evidence points to the conclusion that Ruby killed her. Ruby is put in prison, leaving her two "children" to fend for themselves, and forcing them to stay with one another until the situation is cleared up. Mona is distraught, thinking she can't compete effectively without Ruby's help. And little Vanessa hates Mona's shallow, self-absorbed nature, and wants nothing to do with her. Eventually, though, the two start to rely on each other, and Mona comes to realize the importance of family, and Vanessa finds out the truth about her parentage. Much of Beautiful's charm lies with Hallie Eisenberg, the young girl who has done some memorable commercials for Pepsi and the Independent Film Channel. She's such a little cutie, and she absolutely melted my heart. The pivotal scene in which she first opens up to Mona is one of the most touching things I've seen at the movies in some time: she and Mona are at Mona's mother's house, and when the mother refuses to acknowledge her daughter, Vanessa reprimands her. The relationship between Mona and her mother cruelly threatens to hamper the relationship between Mona and her daughter, and there's something sad in how Vanessa seems to realize this, and is aware of her own alienation. Hallie also fronts the more comical, lighthearted moments. When Vanessa finds out she has to stay with Mona, she immediately goes to the telephone, crying, "I'm getting a foster family, I'm not staying with you!" Later, when she is in a bathroom and surrounded by a horde of beauty pageant contestants (a truly horrific experience, to be sure), she storms out screaming, "You're all driivng me crazy!" Minnie Driver imbues Mona with a very realistic temperment--a child-woman who was so neglected as a kid that she doesn't know how to express affection, even for her own daughter. An important aspect of the story is how she is able to overcome this, slowly but surely. And despite her cold and shallow personality, she is truly someone we sympathize with. Joey Lauren Adams, whose image is transformed by a humble demeanor and a pair of big glasses, is also another character we care about as Ruby--it's easy to root for her as she makes a move from awkward pushover to someone who will stand up to Mona. Beautiful is a great pick for moviewatchers looking for a heartwarming experience at the theater. While some may be put off with the sugary way in which the film sometimes tries to move you, there's no doubt that Beautiful can be a tearjerker for those willing to embrace the characters. And at the risk of sounding very cliche, I thought this movie easily lived up to its title...
The situation that lands Ruby in prison feels contrived--a simple device to get her out of the picture and force Mona and Vanessa together. Not a single person gives Ruby the benefit of the doubt, and the law comes down unusually hard on her. Further, it is disappointing that the Ruby/Vanessa relationship is not explored after Vanessa bonds with her biological mother. I'm sure that for someone like Ruby, a gentle soul who raised the little girl as her own, it would be hard to let her go. But instead, it's all handled peripherally: Vanessa and Mona are fine with things, so Ruby must be, too. The outcome of the Miss America Miss Pageant that Mona participates in is somewhat predictable by the time it comes around the bend, and Mona's speech regarding her lifelong dreams overstays its welcome, becoming cloying and fairy-talish by the end.
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