Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (also known as Miss Congeniality 2) is a 2005 American comedy film directed by John Pasquin, written and produced by Mark Lawrence, and starring Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Murciano, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, Heather Burns, Diedrich Bader, and Treat Williams. It is the sequel to the 2000 film Miss Congeniality.

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on March 24, 2005 and grossed $101 million worldwide, and received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Plot
Several weeks after the events of the first film, FBI agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) has become a celebrity after she infiltrated the beauty pageant on her last assignment. Her fame resulted in her cover being blown while she is trying to prevent a bank heist.

To capitalize on her publicity, the FBI decide to make Gracie the new "face" of the FBI. Hurt after being dumped by her boyfriend, fellow Agent Eric Matthews (who gets relocated to Miami), she agrees to the reassignment.

When female FBI Agent Sam Fuller (Regina King) gets relocated to New York City from Chicago, Hart doesn't take to her at all. Eventually, the FBI makes Fuller Hart's bodyguard, much to Fuller's disgust, since the dislike appears to be mutual.

Ten months later she begins appearing on morning television shows, such as Live with Regis and Kelly, The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Food Channel, giving out fashion advice and promoting her book.

However, when her friends, Miss United States Cheryl Fraser (Heather Burns) and Stan Fields (William Shatner) are kidnapped in Las Vegas, Hart goes undercover to try to rescue them, accompanied by Fuller, following up her own lead after video footage of the abduction suggests that Fields was the target rather than Cheryl. This puts her at odds with the FBI, as they are unwilling to lose their mascot and are unsure if she's still up to the task.

The kidnappers move Cheryl and Stan to the ship at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino which they plan to blow up. Soon afterwards, Hart, Fuller and Joel (Diedrich Bader) arrive at the Oasis Drag club where they end up singing Tina Turner songs and are told by a Dolly Parton contestant where Cheryl and Stan are being held. It is then up to Hart to save the day once more, but this time with the help of Agent Fuller.

Cast

 * Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart
 * Regina King as Sam Fuller
 * Enrique Murciano as Jeff Foreman
 * William Shatner as Stan Fields
 * Ernie Hudson as Harry McDonald
 * Heather Burns as Cheryl Frasier (Miss United States)
 * Diedrich Bader as Joel
 * Vic Chao as Agent Hills
 * Treat Williams as Walter Collins
 * John DiResta as Agent Clonsky
 * Abraham Benrubi as Lou Steele
 * Nick Offerman as Karl Steele
 * Eileen Brennan as Carol Fields
 * Stephen Tobolowsky as Tom Abernathy
 * Elisabeth Röhm as Janet
 * Leslie Grossman as Pam
 * Lusia Strus as Janine
 * Megan Cavanagh as Shirley
 * Molly Gottlieb as Priscilla
 * Dolly Parton as Herself
 * Christopher Ford as Jason
 * Regis Philbin as Himself
 * Joy Philbin as Herself
 * Octavia Spencer as Herself
 * Ross Adam as Brian Cosford

Production
Sandra Bullock and writer Marc Lawrence initially had no plans for a sequel. While working on Two Weeks Notice, Bullock and Lawrence joked about ideas for a Miss Congeniality sequel, some of which "weren't that far-fetched" according to Bullock. Las Vegas was featured in an early version of the first film, but was ultimately written out of the script. A five-week shoot in southern Nevada began on April 12, 2004.[3] Approximately half of the film's scenes were scheduled to be shot in Las Vegas.[4]

Major filming locations included the Treasure Island and Venetian resorts.[3][4][5]Scenes shot at Treasure Island included its Sirens of TI pirate show, which had never been featured in a film before and was closed to the public for filming.[6]Other filming locations included the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign and the Klondike Hotel and Casino.[4] In May 2004, filming took place at the Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse, which served as FBI headquarters within the film.[7] Filming in Las Vegas concluded in mid-May 2004, and moved to Los Angeles for six weeks of shooting, followed by a brief shoot in New York.[7]Bullock also produced the film,[3][7] and said, "It does make for a schizophrenic experience. There are times when I'd rather be performing."[3]

Bullock, who also produced the film, commented during the film's promotion on the type of story she wanted to tell:
 * I want women to be able to do the same thing that men get to do in comedies and say, 'That's a comedy.' Why does it always have to be a romantic comedy? Why does the girl have to end up with the guy? Why can't it be a buddy film?[citation needed]

Box office
The film grossed $101 million worldwide.[2]

Critical response
The film was panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 15% based on 145 reviews.[8] On Metacritic the film has a score of 34 out of 100, based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9]Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B.[10]

Robert Koehler of Variety called the film "Lame and inoffensive."[11]Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times calls the sequel "doubly unnecessary" and says "there is no good reason to go and actually see it."[12]