Miss. Congeniality (2000)
There are so many things to love about Miss. Congeniality, I don’t even know where to start. Sandra Bullock is adorable. Benjamin Bratt is a babe. Candice Bergen is hilarious. William Shatner is… William Shatner. What more needs to be said about good ole Bill? The writing is witty and fun and Sandra Bullock is completely believable as Gracie Hart – the tough, gritty FBI agent that has to act like a beauty queen to prevent a terrorist group from bombing the pageant. Will she save the day? Well, of course, but it’s fun watching her go through the trials and tribulations along the way.
Candice Bergen might be one of my all time favorite actresses. She’s always so hilarious. She instantly makes any movie she’s in better and Miss. Congeniality is no different – and it was already a darn good movie.
Plus Benjamin Bratt. Did I mention he’s gorgeous? No? Well he is. Mmm.
13 Going on 30 (2004)
13 Going on 30 is one of my favorite romantic comedies. It has everything going for it. Fun music, a familiar but always entertaining premise, love and romance, an awesome villain to loathe (Judy Greer’s snobby and conniving Lucy Wyman) and the adorable Mark Ruffalo to root for. I don’t think I even need to mention the sheer enjoyability of Jennifer Garner’s performance as time traveling Jenna Rink. It’s just so much fun to watch Jennifer in this role because it’s so obvious she had a blast doing it. C’mon, watch the Thriller dance scene and tell me she wasn’t loving that!
13 Going on 30 is clearly not the first movie to use the premise of a teenager wishing to be older and waking up in the morning to find that they are (Hi ‘Big’, I’m talking about you, here), but what it lacks in originality it makes up for with heart. You are practically on your knees in front of the screen begging for the happy ending you know you’re going to get. You fall in love with the characters and the movie rewards your affection.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
I just need to take a moment to collect myself. May I just say Adrian Grenier is one of the sexiest men on the planet? I have no idea what it is about him that sets me ablaze so when I see him, but seriously, the man makes me sweat. He really does.
Okay. Moving on.
The Devil Wears Prada pairs the incredibly talented Meryl Streep with the also incredibly talented and unearthly beautiful Anne Hathaway, and what a tremendous movie we get as a result. These two work amazingly together and Emily Blunt is absolutely adorable.
The Devil Wears Prada is a bit predictable, but it is entertaining. The comedy is smart and sharp. The drama is emotional and engrossing and I loved the way Meryl Streep’s Miranda was slowly revealed to be something more than an evil ice queen. And how can you not love Anne Hathaway as Andy? Sure she may not always make the right choices, but you feel for her even if you don’t agree with what’s she’s doing.
Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)
Carrie. Samantha. Charlotte. Miranda. The four fine and fierce females from Sex and the City are back with Sex and the City: The Movie, and it’s about time! I have only been waiting for this since the first whispered rumors that the ladies would be coming to the big screen, but never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would actually happen. Yet here it is – the movie I’d been waiting for. Was it everything I hoped it would be? Definitely!
The addition of Jennifer Hudson was brilliant. I love that girl like I love kittens, and I am a girl that likes her kittens. She fit in perfectly. As always, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis and Cynthia Nixon were delicious as the big city ladies we love so much.
Sex and the City: The Movie proves it’s possible to take a brilliant tv show and make a movie out of it without making it feel like more of the same or losing anything that made the originator so special. I can’t wait for the sequel.
