Perhaps knowing Minnesota better would make this a more enjoyable film. I don't know much at all about it, and I found myself cringing more than laughing. There were some good moments, but they sank under the weight of too many ham-handed "laugh at this stereotype" ones. This person loves Jesus! Ha! Ha! How funny! Wait, she's using Jesus' name as a swear word! She's a hypocrite! What a knee-slapper! Hey, this guy is a pervert! Ha! Haha! Oh that's hilarious! The problem is that most of these things aren't funny at all, at least on their own. Again, maybe knowing Minnesota better would bring out the humor, but if that's the case then this is a giant "in joke", and I'll provide the warning for those who aren't "in" to probably just skip this movie.
The last 15 minutes didn't feel like they fit; the story felt like it should end with the contest we were following for all of the first 4/5 of the movie. After that I wasn't sure where we were going, or why. The movie's focus seemed to change from the original contest to the contest winner. Either redo the first 4/5 of the movie to make it focus on her, or else lose the last bit so the focus stays on the contest.
Also, why did Kirstie Alley's character do what she did in the parade? Her comments both before and after indicate that she knew what was going to happen when she did it, so...!?! That bit just made no sense.
I did really like Ellen Barkin and Allison Janney. They did a lot with the material they were given. Most of the other characters... again, I guess I just didn't get it.
3/10: 1 for a few laughs, 1 for Ellen & Allison, and 1 for the eye candy, Amy Adams and Denise Richards in particular -- and am I getting old or can I throw Ellen in there too? (I love Brittany Murphy but I didn't like her that much here, which I blame on this movie just not being very good; she plays a similarly goofy character in 1997's "Drive" which I absolutely loved, so if you like her energy here, check out that one.)
The last 15 minutes didn't feel like they fit; the story felt like it should end with the contest we were following for all of the first 4/5 of the movie. After that I wasn't sure where we were going, or why. The movie's focus seemed to change from the original contest to the contest winner. Either redo the first 4/5 of the movie to make it focus on her, or else lose the last bit so the focus stays on the contest.
Also, why did Kirstie Alley's character do what she did in the parade? Her comments both before and after indicate that she knew what was going to happen when she did it, so...!?! That bit just made no sense.
I did really like Ellen Barkin and Allison Janney. They did a lot with the material they were given. Most of the other characters... again, I guess I just didn't get it.
3/10: 1 for a few laughs, 1 for Ellen & Allison, and 1 for the eye candy, Amy Adams and Denise Richards in particular -- and am I getting old or can I throw Ellen in there too? (I love Brittany Murphy but I didn't like her that much here, which I blame on this movie just not being very good; she plays a similarly goofy character in 1997's "Drive" which I absolutely loved, so if you like her energy here, check out that one.)