Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous' classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 23 March 05.

Overall comments and recommendations

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous is a poor sequel to the original film. The hate/hate relationship between Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) and her bodyguard/partner Sam Fuller (Regina King) really doesn't work and the movie has a very weak plot. The humour is thin and while Sandra Bullock tries to impress as an implausible FBI agent, the movie fails to make an impact.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is back working as an FBI agent; however her work is hindered by the fact that she is easily recognisable as former Miss New Jersey . This comes to a head when her cover is blown while trying to prevent a bank robbery. The Director of the FBI decides to remove Gracie from active duty and place her as the ‘face' of the FBI. Gracie slips easily into the role of media advocate, signing autographs, smiling for the cameras and appearing on several talk shows. However when her friend Cheryl Frazier (Heather Burns), the reigning Miss USA , is kidnapped she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Gracie enlists the help of Sam Fuller (Regina King), her reluctant bodyguard, to find Cheryl and Stan Fields (William Shatner) the pageant host who was kidnapped with her. Sam is an angry person who really doesn't like Gracie but she knows her job is on the line if she doesn't perform her duty. Therefore, against the express commands of the local FBI chief, Agent Collins, Gracie and Sam pursue their own unethical lines of enquiry to find Cheryl and Stan. This leads them into some funny and dangerous predicaments.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is a lot of violence and aggression in this movie including the following scenes:

• The movie starts with a bank hold up in which there's a lot of shouting, the thieves point guns and take hostages. Gracie attacks one of the women causing her colleague to get shot.
• Gracie and Sam continually fight verbally and physically, punching and kicking each other
• Sam demonstrates self-defence by punching a man in the stomach, the solar plexus and the groin and then jumps on his foot.
• A bikie bashes a man's head on the bar.
• Cheryl and Stan are kidnapped—tied and gagged and thrown in the back of a Ute.
• Bikies threaten a man by hanging him over a bridge.
• Gracie chases and attacks Dolly Parton, then pokes her breasts to see whether it's really her.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned scenes, the following could scare children under the age of eight:

• The bikies are intimidating and in one scene cover their heads in balaclavas.
• Gracie goes to rescue Cheryl and Stan and nearly drowns when the feathers she's wearing get lodged behind a wheel.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children in this age group might still be scared by the aggression and violence in this movie.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Children over the age of thirteen would probably not be scared by this movie; however the content is probably still not suitable for children under the age of 15.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references, including:

• When Gracie's boyfriend breaks up with her she asks if it's because of the sex and if so she could get a manual.
• Gracie, Sam and Joel (Gracie's gay personal assistant) go to the Oasis Drag Club where they all dress in drag.
• Sam kicks a man in the groin and says she hopes he wasn't planning on reproducing.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity.

Use of substances

There is drinking and smoking in a pub.

Coarse language

There is occasional use of the following:

• arse
• pissed off
• sluts
• Oh my God.

The movie's message

Parents may wish to discuss with their children how to manage anger. Also, some content could be used by parents to discuss with their children what their own family's values are, and what the real life consequences can be of the use of violence to solve conflict and pursuing criminal activities.