Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)reviewed by Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell
"Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" follows Gracie Hart, reprised by Sandra Bullock (Murder by Numbers), three weeks after the last film ended. He is dumped by agent Matthews and found searching for something else to fill the now gaping void inside her. She decides to take a new position with the FBI as their official spokes person, playing all the major talk shows with her TV partner agent Fuller, played by Regina King (Ray). While on her publicity tour, promoting the bureau and her new book, Gracie's friend Miss United States Cheryl Frasier, played again by Heather Burns (Two Weeks Notice), and host of the Miss US pageant Stan Fields, played by William Shatner (Dodgeball), are kidnapped for a ransom. Soon, Hart and Fuller have to put away their differences and save their jobs and Hart's friends. The picture was silly, but didn't get as ridiculous as it could have. Some scenes WERE as ridiculous as they could have been, but for the most part, the picture focused on Hart fighting through her break up and pushing on in her career, even though it took her into a highly unbelievable place. Sandra Bullock's timing was fine. She kept the character fairly subdued and didn't try to be any more funny than the writing allowed. Regina King added the sass and attitude this follow up movie needed, after enduring a very "girly" prequel. New additions to the cast for the sequel were Diedrich Bader (TV's Drew Carey Show) as Hart's stylist and Treat Williams (Mullholand Falls) as Collins, the director of the Las Vegas HQ for the FBI. Bader's character got more outlandish and annoying as the picture went on, but for the most part his presence helped the enjoyment, and it showed his range as an actor. Williams played his part strait, but was poorly written. Collins' inner motivation consistently bounced back and forth. However, with the exception of Collins, every other character in the picture was well fleshed out and remained consistent from start to end. There may have been a comprimised or two in the movie's second act, but for the most part, the cast held what picture they had together. Overall, I feel this sequel could have been better developed as a new TV sitcom, rather than a movie. It has a series of cliched messages and plot points, but a few laughs make it fairly high quality. Definitely, if you liked the first "Miss Congeniality" movie, than you should enjoy this one. If you haven't seen the prequel, I'd skip part two. Benn - Where's the Humanity?
He's an unneeded sequel to 2000's "Miss Congeniality," once again starring Sandra Bullock. Even thought the picture is bland in spots, contrived in others, cliched in most, I found the characters were fairly consistent and written well.