Smile

There's something very disturbing and creepy about the "wholesome" teen beauty pageant. It might be the "stage mothers" who are not just living through their daughters, but seem to actually be re-living the vainglorious days of their own pathetic lives before they became frumpy, boring housewives. It might be the way every male from the horny pre-teens to dirty old rotters leers at the teenage girls as they go through the "talent", "swimsuit", and "vim and vigor" portions of these ridiculous contests. Whatever it is, the subject is ripe for satire. This forgotten 70's movie is less famous than the more recent "Drop Dead Gorgeous", but it's really a lot more on-target as far as satire goes. Whereas the later film has its moments (Ellen Barkin's trailer trash mom with a beer can burnt onto her hand or the stupid contestant who has had a sexual encounter with Adam West), the satire in this movie is a lot more subtle and effective. There's the idiotic emcee who says things like: "Isn't she beautiful? Aren't they all beautiful? Isn't everybody beautiful?". There's the scary, Stepford-like pageant director (Barbara Feldon)who for the sake of "the girls" doesn't press charges after her drunken husband (quite understandably)tries to shoot her. Then there's the male community leaders led by "Big Bob" (Bruce Dern) who at one point dress in bedsheets and have an initiation ceremony in the park which ends up looking like an especially homoerotic Ku Klux Klan rally.

The adult actors are mostly just hilarious caricatures, but the contestants are more realistic and likable. The most famous faces are Melanie Griffith and Colleen Camp, but the main stars are Joan Prather (from TV's "Eight is Enough") and a young Annette O'Toole. The ending is kind of anti-climactic, but something about it kind of stays with you. It's not a great movie perhaps, but it was one made at a rare time when America could honestly look at itself in the mirror--and what is there is both funny and disturbing.

So rarely do we find such a dark and acidic commentary filmed in such an exquisitely light fashion. "American Beauty" is an example of success in this genre, but the relatively obscure "Smile" reigns supreme.

It lays bare all the emptiness and hypocrisy of suburban America relentlessly and without mercy, and yet somehow manages to keep itself funny and bright and rarely deals with its subject matter with an overt contempt or scorn.

"Agent 99" Barbara Feldon is superb as the veneer ice-queen teen beauty pageant coordinator -- all diplomacy and smiles glossing over a charred and empty soul. (She greets the dog with smiles and kisses then ignores the husband.) Likewise, Bruce Dern portrays his vapid community leader role with perfect candor, and it becomes delicious to see him question what he perceived as the status quo.

A truly classic and trail-blazing film, well directed and edited and brilliantly written and acted. Such a shame it remains so obscure and unknown. This is one of my top five favourite films and becomes richer and more intricate with each viewing.

And I will never hear Nat King Cole sing the title song again and not picture the strained and pained perma-grins as the opening shot pans across the hopeful beauty contestants.

A wickedly humorous send-up of small town boosterism, in which the junior chamber of commerce talks into mechanical dogs for food, turns on artificial birds for the sounds of nature, and substitutes a relentless smile for genuine feeling. Where also: just thinking you're having fun is more important than the real thing, and upbeat cliché becomes a way of life. Suddenly, into this hothouse arrives a tacky version of that crown jewel of artificiality, the beauty pageant, an event sure to drive everything into warp speed, which it does, but with surprisingly low-key results. The film avoids outright cynicism by humanizing the teen-age contestants, who are, after all, also products of small town America. Nevertheless, the script makes the disconnect clear: ritualized behavior has benumbed genuine emotion. The boosters have lost their inner selves, as will the girls if they continue on the contestant path. Amidst a uniformly fine cast stands Nicholas Pryor, whose portrayal of a desperate drunk looks so authentic, it shakes up the entire movie. A holdout from the deadening groupthink, he simply can't cope with the surroundings. Yet it is his emotional depth, from hangdog expression to slumping carriage, by which the rest of the community is measured. There's an undercurrent of the rebellious 60's running through this film, and I suspect it sank quickly because popular tastes were turning away from ironical characters named "Freelander". Nonetheless, a revival of this neglected gem is long overdue, not only for its often surprisingly subtle humor, but for the continuing relevancy of the message. However, don't look for it at your nearest chamber of commerce meeting.

As with all the great episodic ensemble films (If..., Fame, Nashville, M*A*S*H)it's the little touches that makes this film quite so deliriously wonderful e.g.: The wide-eyed girl's nervousness of the orchestra; the cop's recapture of Little Bob's two accomplices; Maria's expression as the winners of the pageant are being announced; "...and that girl had a wooden foot"; and so on.

All of the cast are uniformly excellent, not one of them, major or minor, misses a beat.

This is one film that invites repeated viewings, until it almost feels like an old friend. I think that we should start a campaign to get this film the recognition it deserves.

When this film first came out thirty-four years ago (which seems impossible) the college crowd I hung with absolutely loved it. I was delighted to see it come up on one of the cable movie channels recently and after watching it again after lo these many years I am delighted to be able to report that its wittily insightful commentary has lost none of its edge or relevance. The flick really does deserve a place in whatever Hall of Fame is dedicated to commentary on American culture. It really is a comedy, but it has just enough raw edges to give it some genuine bite. The pacing is handled very well, and we are able to develop a genuine interest in many of the characters. The movie never descends to grossness or imbecility, although - given the subject matter, a regional beauty competition - the opportunities are plentiful. Bruce Dern's character is wonderfully drawn; it would be so easy to portray him as a dolt, but he is shown as a sincerely well-meant guy, which is what makes his subtly characterized thoughtfulness at the end of the movie so effective. Interesting to see Melanie Griffith - at the age of 18! - in one of her earliest credited performances. My favorite character is Michael Kidd, the choreographer; cynical, bitter, yet a true professional, he seems the only one in the flick that really cares about the girls, yet he has no illusions about himself. There are just so many wonderful moments in this film - thanks to a brilliant script and great direction - that it deserves a place as a minor classic of Americana.