The one movie Sandra Bullock admits “shouldn’t have been done”
Back in the 1990s, few action stars could compete with the enthusiasm and box-office magnetism of Sandra Bullock. Only rising to fame in the late 1980s, Bullock went on to be a champion of the final decade of the 20th century, appearing in such movies as Demolition Man and Speed, where she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone and Keanu Reeves.
It was 1993’s Demolition Man that would kick off a winning decade for the actor, with the clout gained for her performance as Lt. Lenina Huxley inspiring other studios to take her under their wing for films like Speed, The Net and Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill. Yet, not every single one of her movies was a hit, with her career hitting a small roadblock upon the release of Speed 2: Cruise Control in 1997.
Expressing her regret on several occasions regarding her appearance in the project that changes the film’s central drama from a speeding bus to a speeding boat, she once told the press that she was still “embarrassed” by the movie. “I have one no one came around to, and I’m still embarrassed I was in,” she stated, “I’ve been very vocal about it. Makes no sense. Slow boat. Slowly going towards an island”.
It was the first sequel that Bullock ever took on, and while she swore it would be her last, in 2005, she went on to feature in the sequel to her beloved 2000 comedy Miss Congeniality, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous.
The former entry into the frivolous comedy canon was welcomed. Bullock has. a natural ability for comedy and has always presented herself as a goofy straight performer with the kind of candour that Laurel & Hardy would have certainly approved of. But with all good things in Hollywood, as soon as executives got a taste, and knew it had a chance to be rekindled, they chunked the leftovers of the ideas into a blender and made movie meatloaf.
A poor reimagining of one of her greatest movies, the sequel was poorly received by critics and took less than half of the global box office takings of the previous film. Quite simply, where Bullock’s Gracie Hart had tripped and fallen into the audience’s endearment in the first movie she simply fell on the second.
Fatefully, Bullock went on to regret her time in this sequel, too, telling Metro UK in 2022, “[It] shouldn’t have been done,” in reference to the 2005 follow-up to Miss Congeniality. It was a moment in moviemaking the actors often learn from. Milking the same cow can have disastrous effects.
Though she is slightly conflicted about her thoughts towards the movie, adding that she was “glad” that it did eventually happen due to the fact that it meant she could collaborate with actor Regina King, “Who I just freaking adore”. But then, she resolutely states, “that one should have remained a one-off,” in reference to the original film, before quickly rejecting the possibility of a Miss Congeniality 3 in the future.
Take a look at the trailer for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous below and figure out for yourself whether it’s worthy of existing.
