Smile

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.

My fellow commenters have done a lovely job of summing up the wonderfulness of this movie. But I don't think enough has been said about Maria O'Brien. She is the daughter of the late, great Edmond O'Brien, and she is off-the-hook funny in this movie. I knew her "whackamolehthip" was laying it on thick, and I'm just a gringa with a good accent. And then she drops the accent when talking to the stage manager: "I need red and green gels for my entrance...." "Applause, applause, applause...." Maria O'Brien is brilliant. She should be as famous as her father never was.

Santa Rosa, California, is the true star of this great satire. Barbara Feldon is magnificent as the hard-hearted pageant dominatrix. And Bruce Dern, is the true suburban everyman. Nicholas Pryor, Michael Kidd, and Geoffrey Lewis are all brilliant in their cynical supporting roles. But, the contestants steal the show -- especially Melanie Griffith, Joan Prather, Colleen Camp, Maria O'Brien, and Annette Toole.

This wonderful comedy-drama has much the same tone as "Nashville." It's a satirical view of a place and time centering around a specific event, in this case a teenage beauty pageant. It has a couple of things "Nashville" doesn't have, however--a heart, and a great deal of affection for its flawed characters. Bruce Dern has never been sufficiently appreciated--often typed as a psycho--but he has never been better than he is here as a used-car salesman with a lot of inner torment. And Michael Kidd, the great choreographer, shows what an adept actor he can be in a supporting performance which in a perfect world would have won an Oscar, and in this imperfect one was not even nominated. Michael Ritchie, one of the most erratic of directors, here hits his career peak.

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.