These days, Sandra Bullock is basically Hollywood royalty. She's an Academy Award winner who's been nominated for the Best Actress Oscar twice, makes pretty consistently good movies, occasionally pops up in buzzy projects like "The Lost City" and "Ocean's Eight," and is one of the most recognizable performers in the entire industry. Back in the 1990s and 2000s, though, Bullock was pretty much known for one genre: romantic comedies. Now, one of her funniest, breeziest films is making waves on Netflix after landing in the number four spot on the streamer's top 10 movies on February 10, 2025 (as reported by FlixPatrol).
"Miss Congeniality," which hit theaters in 2000, casts Bullock as Gracie Hart, a tough-as-nails special agent for the FBI who never makes much of an effort to appear "ladylike" or "pretty." This approach isn't causing any problems for her generally, but when a case surfaces that involves a bomb threat at a Texas beauty pageant, the bureau decides to gussy up Gracie, install her as Miss New Jersey (since that contestant is about to get disqualified anyway), and make her go undercover to figure out who's behind the threat. Though she's resistant at first and really puts up a fight with her pageant coach Victor Melling (a divinely funny Michael Caine), Gracie ends up unexpectedly making friends at the pageant and ultimately learns that sisterhood is important ... and that her new friends aren't as superficial as she initially thought.
Honestly, "Miss Congeniality" is a charming, funny movie elevated by its performances -- but what did critics think of it when it first came out? Not much, apparently.