Drop Dead Gorgeous is a bizarre and disturbing film. The jokes are so vulgar and inappropriate that you have to ask if the filmmakers have any morals. The characters seem to be cardboard cutouts with no depth, instead of relying on stereotypes to direct their every action. So, would people despise this revolting and revolting outrage? It can, at the very least, trigger two sections of the mind to fight. Then there's the well-trained, manner-conscious, and still, respectful sub-conscious that your mother worked so hard to instil in you. Second, there's the childish legacy from your childhood years that still lingers in the depths of your head, snickering at jokes now and then. The latter will triumph, eliciting a burst of laughter and a grin on your face—however undeserved.
Drop Dead Gorgeous's crew consists of two men sent to Mount Rose, Minnesota, a small town in the United States. Every year, four people are allowed to make "the most important choices in their lives" as they judge the local beauty pageant. The Leemans, who seem to have all the money in Mount Rose, are one such family. The father, Lester (Sam McMurray), owns the local furniture store and despises Jews in particular. Gladys (Kirstie Alley) is the mother who is the president of many town councils and a former beauty pageant champion. The daughter, Becky (Denise Richards), follows in her mother's footsteps and will be the next pageant queen if Gladys has her way. So, how far will Gladys go to get what she wants?
The Atkins family is on the opposite end of the continuum. This mother-daughter couple lives in a trailer, and Loretta (Allison Janney), a neighbour, is almost always with them. Amber (Kirsten Dunst), the daughter, works two jobs to help her mother (Ellen Barkin) and dreams of leaving Mount Rose for a better life one day. The pageant was her way back.
The old law of the two main characters facing off at the end of the film still applies, but only after we've seen some of the other pageant contestants. A developmentally disabled judge, a perverted judge, a teen who speaks sign language and English simultaneously, a sex addict, and a slew of stereotypical high school ditzes are all included here.
Drop Dead Gorgeous, to put it mildly, is a guilty pleasure. I might compare the fun of this film to that of another movie about a stranger arriving in a town (her name was Debbie, and the town was Dallas), but this is a family-friendly blog.