Drop Dead Gorgeous

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Drop Dead Gorgeous ★★½ Dairy Queens 1999 (PG-13)

Oh, the ambitions of stage moms and their daughters in this mockumentary of small-town Minnesota beauty pageants. Satire takes the lowest road whenever possible, because that's where the laughs happen to be. Naive Amber (Dunst) has a trailer-trash babe, Annette (Barkin), for a mom, while rival rich bitch, Becky (Richards), is stuck with the horror that is Gladys (Alley). And someone is taking the contest way too seriously, since other contestants are dropping like flies. Piles it on a little thick sometimes, but overall it works. Watch for Richards' cringe-inducing talent show dance number. 97m/C VHS, DVD . Denise Richards, Kirsten Dunst, Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Allison Janney, Sam McMurray, Mindy Sterling, Amy Adams, Tara Redepenning, Sara Stewart, Shannon Nelson, Matt Malloy, Michael McShane, Brooke Bushman, Will Sasso, Brittany Murphy, Mo Gaffney, Nora Dunn, Amanda Detmer; Cameos: Adam West; D: Michael Patrick Jann; W: Lona Williams; C: Michael Spiller; M: Mark Mothersbaugh.