Go Behind the Scenes of Beauty Pageants With These Films

Here are seven films on beauty pageants that are a must watch.

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Pageants have been around for eons. The "beauty competition" started out as a more patriarchal form of reaffirming society's perception of a "beautiful" woman. But as we progress into an age where people like to discuss and question the norm, we have seen a whole new style of pageants emerge. Today, we have pageants that accommodate married women, mothers, women of plus sizes and even kids (not the best evolution, one would say).

Films on pageants too have tried to capture the sense of the world that's behind the glitz and glamour. Some films chose to do with an honest story to tell and others did it by mocking the pageant culture.

Miss Congeniality

This one film that's most popular and almost everyone knows. It's the classic drama setup where Gracie Hart, (played by Sandra Bullock) an FBI agent, goes undercover as a contestant of Miss America Beauty Pageant to monitor a potential terrorist attack. But, of course, she has a chance of winning this for real.

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Shot as a mockumentary, Drop Dead Gorgeous is a film that would have worked wonders if it released today. The film follows some high school wannabe beauty queens who compete in the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess pageant. The humour is ruthless in a film where a shy Amber Atkins, played by Kirsten Dunst, is competing against the guaranteed winner of the contest Becky Leeman, played by Denise Richards. The film shows what pageants' moms and girls are all about.

Dumplin'

Dumplin' is the most heartwarming beauty pageant movie you will ever see! Rosie, played by Jennifer Anniston, is a beauty queen and her daughter Willowdean, played by Danielle Macdonald, enters a pageant. But...she's plus size and comes with her band of friends, each one a character in the most endearing ways. The films manages to mock the superficiality as well as leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling by the end. Kudos to Anniston who also co-produced this gem.

Miss Juneteenth

While most pageant films end with the protagonist being crowned, Miss Juneteenth starts with it. What happens after you're crowned? And the protagonist of this one, Turquoise Jones, played by Nicole Beharie, has a big life decision to make. The winner gets a full scholarship to the black college of their choice but she has to support her daughter, Kai, and pay the bills.

Little Miss Sunshine

Part road-trip movie, part beauty-pageant glitz and glamour, Little Miss Sunshine follows the Hoover family. The family embarks on a cross country trip to help Olive, played by Abigail Breslin, realise her dreams of entering the Little Miss Sunshine Contest in California. Years after its release, the film is just as smart and funny.

Pageant

If you're a fan of shows like RuPaul's Drag Race and you love a good documentary, this one is for you. This award-winning documentary shows the reality of a pageant scene miles from the ones we have grown up seeing or watching in films. It explores the gay pageant culture and brings on reel the raw emotions and reasons for running a pageant race.

Misbehaviour

Misbehaviour is all that we would expect a pageant film to be about. It's set in 1970, in the backdrop is the Women's Liberation Movement. What's a better place to revolutionise than a pageant seen? Sally, played by Keira Knightley, Jessie Buckley as Jo, and Jennifer played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, are on a mission to subvert preconceived archetypes.