Miss Congeniality

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

A mannerless, styleless brute, Bullock's Grace Hart is Eliza Doolittle in sweats.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

A mainstream Hollywood escapist fantasy that in the end melts satire into sentimentality, but it is funny and knowing, detached enough to take a bemused stance toward its calculated tone.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

A remarkably solid, streamlined, action-comedy in the ugly-duckling-to-gorgeous-swan genre that elicits more laughs and genuinely affecting moments than you might expect from its tepid ad campaign.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

She (Bullock) has a way of landing on her feet and remaining simpatico no matter how cheesy the script is. That's what happens here.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Miss Congeniality would not be out of place as a TV series, so it makes sense that Candice Bergen and William Shatner appear as pageant co-hosts.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

The makeover from ugly duckling to swan essentially replaces narrative catharsis.

Film.com Robert Horton

It all coalesces in a TV-level pleasantness, which isn't quite enough to fill a big screen.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It isn't bad so much as it lacks any ambition to be more than it so obviously is.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Has some entertaining moments, thanks mainly to Bullock herself, who is surprisingly glamorous as well as endearing.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

A barrage of dangling plot strands, inconsistent characterizations, and suspense-free shootouts.

TV Guide Steve Simels

William Shatner's comic timing helps him nearly steal the picture.

USA Today Andy Seiler

It is a measure of the movie's lack of inspiration that William Shatner is the funniest thing in it.

Miami Herald Sara Wildberger

The players are game. Too bad they don't have much of a coach or a plan.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

Bullock maintains a luster and comic naturalness that most actresses couldn't pull off in such mediocrity.

Variety Robert Koehler

Stumbling its way down the comedy runway, Miss Congeniality is yet another miscalculated vehicle for the ever-feisty Sandra Bullock.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Supporting performances add comic spark to a movie that otherwise seems happily, deliberately second-rate.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

As lame as a three-legged mule.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

The kind of ugly-duckling role that's long been ironic for her (Bullock).

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

The jokes are lame, the set-up is stupid and Bullock, occasionally a winsome comedienne and here a co-producer, is annoying as heck.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

I'd rather be buried in a mound of Floridian chad than watch director Donald Petrie force Bullock to jump through another desperately unfunny comic hoop.