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Posted Tue, 30 Jan 2001
On one level one could say this was a movie about learning to appreciate who you are, about what truly matters in life, about the fact that it is far more important to be beautiful on the inside than the outside, and about the possility that people can change. Alas I found the hard-faced Minnie Driver character, Mona Hibbard, so unlikable (and credit to Ms Driver – so believable) that I doubted the possibility of the deeper meaning and potential to metamorphosise from a bloody-minded, self-centered beauty pageant competitor to a human being with morals, genuine emotions and capable of reciprocal love for those who loved her.
| Our Rating |  |
| Reviewer | Jacqui Thompson |
| Rated | PG |
| Running Time | 112 mins |
| Starring | Minnie Driver, Kathleen Turner, Hallie Kate Eisenburg |
| Screenplay | Jon Bernstein |
| Director | Sally Field |
| Website | http://www.beautifulthemovie.com |
| Movie Details | http://iafrica.imdb.com |
The film implies that she is driven from such a young age because she wants to escape her childhood and gain her mother’s approval. Why? Who knows, as her mother is a drunken, worthless hag with a parasitic boyfriend. A young metal-mouth Mona befriends timid Ruby (a whispery-voiced Joey Lauren Adams) because she can sew. Mona soon has the saint-like Ruby stitching her gowns and costumes in pursuit of the ‘Miss America Miss’ title. Ruby is so sweet (how can someone possibly be that nice, sew dream dresses and lie) and loves Mona so unconditionally that she even helps cover up a career-shattering secret: Mona’s illegitimate daughter Vanessa, played by a little dynamo called Hallie Kate Eisenberg. This spunky little seven-year-old carries the entire film on her shoulders. "Beautiful" is worth going to see just to watch this remarkable knee-high actress in action.
Mona drives on, clawing her way up the blush-encrusted ladder of beauty pageants, using less than admirable methods on occasion to ensure she makes it to the ‘Miss America Miss’ pageant. Starting from a very young age, this included snipping the rear out of a competitor’s swimsuit in the ‘Miss Tiny Little Darling’ pageant to sabotaging a blonde’s baton with the help of a little superglue at a later stage in her illustrious career. Nothing will stop Mona reaching her dream, nothing will stop her from being someone, something purely because she is beautiful. It’s a strange credo; I am beautiful, therefore I am.
Kathleen Turner has a cameo role as Verna Chickle, a pre-teen pageant coach. Leslie Stefanson (ex baton twirler) plays a vicious, ambitious blonde reporter out for revenge. She intends to destroy Mona on national television.
Sally Field’s directorial debut may not be that remarkable but she deserves kudos for casting the remarkable Hallie Kate Eisenberg.
It is up to little Vanessa to teach the proud and stubborn Mona that no matter what you look like, if you don’t feel good about yourself you’ll never be beautiful.
