Over the past year and a half, I have been doing some dating. During the initial “get-to-know-you-and-ask-you-inane-questions” phase, it comes out that I am a cinephile (aka movie nerd). Should my date not ask for the check at that precise moment, vowing to never pick up random strangers standing in line at Shake Shack again, the obvious follow up question is, “What is your favorite movie?” I have a few stock answers: Chaplin, Gone with the Wind, Rear Window, etc, however, this is not quite accurate. My favorite movies really depend on my mood. When I am sitting at home and I want to escape the real world for a couple of hours, I do not automatically reach for the “highbrow” cinema. I head straight for the trash. Twenty minutes later, you will find me sprawled on my couch, wearing my ripped jeans, eating Ben and Jerry’s ice cream right out of the container, and watching, um…Drop Dead Gorgeous.
Drop Dead Gorgeous is one of those movies that is just so ridiculous that I walk away smiling every time. This mockumentary follows a local beauty pageant turns deadly in a Minnesota town. The cast includes: Kirsten Dunst, Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Brittany Murphy, Denise Richards, Amy Adams (in her film debut), and Allison Janney.
Obviously, from the synopsis above, this film has the depth of the half-deflated kiddie pool that sat in my backyard every summer. However, it seems to have that quality that makes me double over laughing every single time I watch it. What makes me love a trashy movie is that one glimmer of greatness that shines through the shit; in Drop Dead Gorgeous, it is the cast. From the comic genius of Allison Janney to a pre-anorexic Brittany Murphy making even throw away lines giggle worthy. Then again a lot of the lines are really hilarious simply for the fact that they are all said with a Fargo-esque Minnesota accent.
moviefiednyc.com 