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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled, Original, Theatrical Version, Trailers
Get ready for a hilarious (Variety) look at one of America s most beloved institutions: the beauty pageant! Oscar nominees* Bruce Dern and Melanie Griffith wind their way through pageant hell in this twisted exposition of Americana that deserves a high place among successful film spoofs (Cue)! The bleached-blonde town of Santa Rosa, California, is very excited about its annual Young American Miss Pageant. Chief judge Big Bob Freelander (Dern) promises his town a good contest. But the battling bombshells are growing ruthless in their quest for the crown! Can Big Bob make sure that his bevy of beauties remains civil so that audiences don t discover what really lies behind those smiles!System Requirements: Running Time 113 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE
"A joyous celebration of American craziness..." L.A. Herald Examiner
"Hilarious..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
Michael Ritchie's SMILE is a satirical, behind-the-scenes look at a California teenage beauty pageant, which also exposes American middle-class mores. The competitors (who seem to favor political maneuvering and backstabbing over talent and poise) provide only part of the story, since the members of the pageant staff are just as interesting--and dysfunctional. These include jury president Big Bob Freelander (Bruce Dern), a straight-laced car salesman; Brenda DiCarlo (Barbara Feldon), the pageant's main organizer; her alcoholic husband Andy (Nicholas Pryor); and even Big Bob's son, Little Bob, who is secretly taking photos of the nubile teenagers with the hopes of selling them to horny classmates. As the week leading up to the unveiling of the new Miss California sparks even more arguments, accidents, and confusion among Santa Rosa's residents, they begin to reveal even greater signs of lunacy. While all of this is going on, the contestants are trying miserably not to buckle under the pressure--or drop their twirling batons. Ritchie's film, a lighthearted critique of American suburbia, pokes fun at the majority of its components, including sexual conservatism, domestic dysfunction, and male bonding (in a hilarious "initiation" scene). SMILE also features a standout performance from Dern in the film's central role.
Plot Summary
Competitive mayhem and mounting chaos take over a California beauty pageant in director Michael Ritchie's biting satire.
| Features | Audio: English, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Theatrical Trailer |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: MGM |
| Release Date: 8/24/2004 |
| Running Time: 113 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1975 | | Catalog ID: 1006867 | | UPC: 00027616910080 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Sight and Sound
"...SMILE is one of those seemingly casual, loosely knit films in which, finally, every touch counts and nothing is inessential..." 09/01/1975 p.258USA Today
"[This] cult movie rarely stoops to cheap shots." 09/03/2004 p.7E Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 8 of 10
Hilarious, perceptive satire centering around the behind-the-scenes activity at a California "Young
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