Miss Congeniality 2

No prizes for guessing that creating a great piece of art wasn't foremost on the minds of the makers of this sequel to that bland but generally inoffensive Sandra Bullock vehicle of a few years back. This time around, Gracie Hart (Bullock) is still dealing with the after-effects of successfully disarming the threat of the first movie, and is frustrated that her celebrity isn't exactly conducive to undercover work. Throw a frankly implausible subplot into the mix where Gracie can't hang on to a bloke for more than a few minutes and it's clear that our gal is not in her best form. Worse is to come when the Bureau, sensing a bit of good PR for a change, decides to team Hart up with Sam Fuller (Regina King), a feisty, ambitious agent. If that wasn't enough shenanigans for one movie, when Cheryl Frazier (Heather Burns) and Stan Fields (William Shatner) are kidnapped, Gracie's got to get back to saving lives.

Adhering to the worst principles of the sequel, the most original thing about Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous is its title. Dubious as its charms may have been, the original at least saw Bullock deliver one of her trademark spirited comic turns. In this overblown, ass numbingly long sequel, she can't even muster up the enthusiasm, leaving Regina King to make the most of her underwritten and cliche-ridden role as the driven junior partner. On the other hand, William Shatner looks happy just to be gainfully employed these days and has a fine time poking fun at his own overblown image. Much like the film, however, he too wears out his welcome long before those final credits eventually roll.