Since she’s starring yet again in a role that pegs her as the "girl next door," perhaps Sandra Bullock has a point to make about typecasting -- sometimes it pays off! Well, it at least allows her to star in leading roles. The quality of the scripts? Well, that’s another matter altogether.

In her last dramatic comedy, 28 Days, Bullock had us believe that though her character is an obnoxious and self-pitying alcoholic, there is enough goodness in her to draw a sympathetic "aw" from the viewers when she turns her life around. In Miss Congeniality, Bullock essentially tries to pull off the same trick. Unfortunately, this comedy will only go as far as being a top week rental at the local video store. Though co-starring accomplished names like Michael Caine, William Shatner and Candice Bergen, Miss Congeniality suffers from a personality disorder. It’s not quite zany enough when it should be and it often tries to switch to an action genre at the most inopportune moments.

When a serial killer known as "The Citizen" threatens to blow up the Miss United States beauty pageant held in San Antonio, Texas, the un-kept, aggressive, tomboy FBI agent, Gracie Hart (Bullock) is assigned undercover to compete in the contest in efforts to catch the killer. With help from the renowned beauty contest consultant, Vic Melling (Michael Caine), Gracie is painstakingly manufactured into a sexy beauty queen convincing enough to befriend the other contestants and begin her investigation, while also competing in every demeaning category. In fact, much to the dismay of the pageant organizers Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen), a former Miss United States, and her sidekick Stan (William Shatner), Gracie (now Miss New Jersey) surprises everyone by scoring well in the swim suit category, in which she manages to awe the audience with her FBI-trained talent. Between bikini waxes and bulimia-inducing brunches, Gracie gathers all the obvious clues that lead her to the killer, without breaking a nail.

What is most disappointing about this movie is the importance it gives to Gracie’s transformation from "Dirty Harriette" to Miss Sex Kitten. Though armed and seemingly tough throughout the pageant, Gracie appears to be more interested in being a contestant than she is in catching the killer. We see this most vividly in her relationship with fellow agent Eric (Benjamin Bratt). We first witness them wrestling with animosity and equal strength but that quickly changes as she gets more involved in the pageant. In fact, when Gracie names the killer to their superior, Eric deems her suspicions irrational and refuses to support her. It would have been fair game if Gracie managed to handcuff the killer on her own, but how can she? Eric is the knight in shining armor and must come to rescue his damsel in "beauty distress." Need I say more?

I don’t suspect that there was any real deep thought process involved in this script so if you venture to see this movie, don’t expect anything more than mindless comedy with some slap-sticking from Bullock and a clever delivery from Michael Caine, who puts the charm in camp. It gets a **1/2 rating.

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