THE SANDRA BULLOCK REVIEW

By Nate Lee

BEST FILM: Miss Congeniality / 28 Days Okay, “Crash” won Best Picture. Okay, “Speed” is great, but come on, let’s get unreal. For second place, any number of romantic comedies, with “Sleeping” and “Lake House” at the top. But for the actress, the popularity of “Miss Congeniality” is more than deserved – it’s earned. Likewise, “28 Days” takes her character and us through the gamut of emotions in those four weeks.

 

GREAT PERFORMANCES YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN:

28 Days (addict in rehab)

The Lake House (opposite Keanu Reeves)

While You Were Sleeping (opposite Bull Pullman)

Crash

Infamous (author Harper Lee)

Wrestling Ernest Hemingway

A Time to Kill (opposite Matthew McConaughey)

Hope Floats

Practical Magic (a witch, with Nicole Kidman)

Murder by Numbers (a detective)

Two Weeks Notice (opposite Hugh Grant)

BLOCKBUSTERS:

Demolition Man (opposite Sylvester Stallone)

Speed (opposite Keanu Reeves)

The Net (an internet expert)

Miss Congeniality

Miss Congeniality 2

THE REAL BULLOCK:

Miss Congeniality

Sandra has to be in touch with her not so feminine self to pull off the roles she’s had. But, clearly, she’s a charmer just waiting for the next opportunity.

ACTING STYLE:

America’s sweetheart, her supposed moniker, doesn’t really fit Sandra. She is far from the helpless ingénue that that implies. A bit of the girl next door, if you’re not too suburban, Sandra has a lovable, huggable, often surprising beauty. But she’s also the bus driver, drug addict, cop, FBI geek and physical comedienne with some kind of ethnic affiliation that just comes out of the ether. Sandra is the understudy who went out there and came back a star.

IF YOU LIKE HER, YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T LIKE:

Speed 2

Gun Shy

BITS AND QUIRKS:

Loves to make herself into the caterpillar and then come back to the butterfly – many of her films have her looking ridiculously unkempt, ugly, etc. then eventually emerging into her best angles. Big slouch, with the head pushed forward. Messing with the hair. Comic bits include a more nasally, higher voice than usual. Wide-eyed innocence.

GREAT SCENES:

THE LAKE HOUSE

The zoo scene, as their time motif allows them to draw closer > The party > The mailbox when they first discover its magic

MISS CONGENIALITY

The laugh > The makeover with Michael Caine > The hangar scene after the transformation > The “talent” portion of the beauty contest where she demonstrates defensive maneuvers > 2 > The Regis show > The Vegas act > Fighting with Sam, her bodyguard

SPEED

Driving the bus, trying to get people off of it > Coming together with Keanu Reeves on the subway train

28 DAYS

Ruining the wedding and crashing the car > Running in to Steve Buscemi > Therapy sessions > Putting on the skit

DEMOLITION MAN

Getting worked up over Stallone’s violent style > Malaprops on American slang > The dinner at Taco Bell, the fanciest restaurant of the future

THE NET

Downloading the files in her alias’s cubicle, then escaping as a firefigher > The convention, uploading all the damaging files > The showdown with her boyfriend, and the fire extinguisher