Miss Congeniality
For those filmgoers, whom along with this reviewer, have never liked
Sandra Bullock, "MISS CONGENIALITY" may change their mind about her! 
"MISS CONGENIALITY" never fails to surprise the viewer with its
unabashed charm!  At the film's beginning, when we're first introduced
to Gracie Hart(Bullock) a disheveled, tomboyish FBI agent, who almost messes up a "sting" operation, we have no reason to expect the film to be any better than the long string of mediocre cop films that have
plagued the screens for years.  But, soon enough, in spite of its share
of clichés, Bullock's genuine charisma succeeds in making "MS.
CONGENIALITY" one of this year's biggest surprises and a dvd worthwhile for any collection.  Gracie is more at home getting "chip-faced" behind a pint of Chocolate Chip Ice Cream than behind a dress, but she's forced to shed her "manly" demeanor in favor of a manicure, waxing, and woman's attire, in the hopes of catching a psychopath threatening to sabotage the "MISS UNITED STATES PAGEANT".  Because the bureau is in a race to get her "inside" the pageant, she must take on emergency coaching from Michael Caine.  Caine also succeeds in giving one of his most enjoyable performances of recent years!  As good as Caine is, there are plenty of other co-stars rivaling his terrific performance!  Benjamin Bratt and William Shatner add to the film's likeable cast by being both funny and believable.  At times, their roles feel like they'd be able to fit seamlessly into an Elmore Leonard novel!  That's how believable they are! 
WARNER BROS. has presented the film with its proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 16:9 enhancement.  This is quite simply one of the best dvd
transfers of the past year!  This is a demonstration quality dvd!  The
color values are solid, with pristine detail and each hue is remarkably
defined.  Fleshtones are perfectly natural throughout the film.  The
contrast is also remarkable, with nearly unbelievable detail in even the
darkest scenes. OUTSTANDING!
WARNER BROS. has also presented a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that's
exceptional!  One wouldn't expect a comedy of this nature to offer much in the way of directional effects, but this mix is aggressive, even more so than many action films we've recently heard!  There are great
directional effects in the front soundstage and with the surrounds.
Even the .1LFE track gets some decent time here!  The dialogue is well
focused and free of distortion. 
WARNER BROS. deserves a lot of credit for their presentation of "MISS CONGENIALITY".  Not only is it one of the best looking and sounding dvds released this year, but it also has more than a fair share of supplements to go with it!
There are two screen commentaries offered.  One of them features Sandra Bullock along with one of the screenwriters, Marc Lawrence.  While aspiring filmmakers won't learn much here, it's an extremely
entertaining commentary, filled with plenty of stories of what went on
behind the film and allows fans of Ms. Bullock to become further
enchanted with her.
The second commentary "is" for aspiring filmmakers!  Director Donald
Petrie details the technical side of this film, elaborating on how sets
were designed, locations chosen, and sacrifices were made with the
ultimate goal of handing in a well-crafted, finely polished,
entertaining film!
Add to this two enjoyable featurettes, filled with interviews as well as
information about pageants "and" bloopers! Within each featurette, there are also "deleted scenes" which Director Donald Petrie introduces.  The deletion of these scenes really did nothing to alter the enjoyment level of such a fine film, but we're grateful that WARNER BROS has offered them all the same!