It's pure bullshit, sweetie.

July 23, 2014 7:07 AM

On its 15th Anniversary, Buzzfeed takes a look back at cult comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous while Bustle compares Drop Dead Gorgeous pageant moments with real life pageant moments.
posted by jacquilynne (55 comments total)

Aaaaahhh I love this movie!!

If any of you haven't seen this movie go watch it. Go watch it right now.

It's so much more than what it seems.

They managed to tuck funny into nearly every single detail.
posted by phunniemee at 7:16 AM on July 23, 2014 [13 favorites]

I was completely unaware that some people did not think this movie was funny. The first time I saw it, I was probably 14 or 15 and I laughed so hard I had trouble breathing.
posted by wakannai at 7:30 AM on July 23, 2014 [6 favorites]

Such a good movie. So funny. So violent.

“In this age of total accessibility of everything, you can’t Netflix this movie, and you can’t download it off of iTunes,” Jann, the film’s director, told BuzzFeed. At the time of publication, a copy of the bare-bones DVD, now out of print, could be purchased on Amazon.com for $60. “This is the ultimate cult movie. You can’t see it. I will loan someone my VHS copy for anyone that’s interested.”

CanIStream.it reports that it is available for $9.99 on Google Play, so there is a way to watch. And it is totally worth watching.
posted by pie ninja at 7:31 AM on July 23, 2014

For one second I read this as Buzzfeed being 15 years old and looked around to see if I'd suddenly aged a decade without realizing it.

For the record, yes I had.
posted by anastasiav at 7:32 AM on July 23, 2014 [9 favorites]

I first saw part of it on TV -- I think I came in around the Jesus dance number, and I was like "WTF?" and I don't think I kept watching. But later I saw it from the beginning, and I was like "Seriously? WTF? THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME WTF EVER!"
posted by jacquilynne at 7:35 AM on July 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

i love this movie so much! i keep being amazed that amy adams ended up being one of the biggest stars to come out of it. i also miss britney murphy's talent of making everything she participated in better.
posted by nadawi at 7:36 AM on July 23, 2014 [3 favorites]

I checked and it is definitely not available on Google Play. There's some other movie called Drop Dead Gorgeous that has a very different plot.

Bummer. I was sort of excited that I could finally use Google Play for something.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:40 AM on July 23, 2014

There has been a severe overload of "10 years ago THIS HAPPENED" articles and morning-show segments lately. But this is one I can get behind.

Can we all agree Allison Janney is the bestest?
posted by AloneOssifer at 7:43 AM on July 23, 2014 [8 favorites]

Re: Google Play: Dang. CanIStream.it lied. It looks like the only other options are DVD from Netflix or some sort of XFinity cable option... or owning it on DVD, but again, it's out of print now and super-expensive to buy.
posted by pie ninja at 7:43 AM on July 23, 2014

"The Sin Cities, a.k.a. Minneapolis and St Paul"
posted by soelo at 7:47 AM on July 23, 2014 [3 favorites]

"And so, dear Lord, it is with deep sadness that we turn over to you this young woman, whose dream to ride on a giant swan resulted in her death. Maybe it is your way of telling us... to buy American."
posted by davidjmcgee at 7:48 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

p.s. I love this movie so much I followed a link to Buzzfeed
posted by davidjmcgee at 7:50 AM on July 23, 2014 [6 favorites]

Can we all agree Allison Janney is the bestest?

I believe you might mean "the most smartest."
posted by jacquilynne at 7:51 AM on July 23, 2014 [13 favorites]

Most smartest!
posted by palomar at 8:02 AM on July 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

I blame this movie for the occasional Minnesota accent that comes flying out of me. And for the fact that sometimes when I've been drinking I'll try to proposition people by telling them "if you catch this in your mouth I'll give you a present". It never works out well, but I keep doing it, because dammit, persistence pays off.
posted by palomar at 8:04 AM on July 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

One of my favorites, And I have the DVD, which feels like an artifact at this point.
posted by keli at 8:18 AM on July 23, 2014

I love this movie so much. The first time I watched it, a friend and I rented it knowing nothing about it. Got super stoned and watched it. The movie ended and we both looked at each other like, WTF?!!! And started it over right away. Alison Janney was so flipping funny. And I can't really think of any part of the movie that doesn't make me laugh. And some (maybe most) of the humor is so, so wrong. Even Denise Richards is funny! I bought the DVD a long time ago and watch it frequently.
posted by backwords at 8:24 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

It does appear to be available for download on Amazon for 9.99?
posted by Twain Device at 8:27 AM on July 23, 2014

Sorry, that's not the right movie Twain Device.
posted by bookwo3107 at 8:34 AM on July 23, 2014

the most smartest

Aw, that makes me miss America's Most Smartest Model.

I love this film as well, and also own it, and since reading the article have struggled to not just put it on and watch it again. The fused beer can, Alexandra Holden as the poor previous year's winner, Brittany Murphy's snort-laughing, and a young Amy Adams...

Though I don't lump Jawbreaker in with it, unlike the article, if for no other reason than I didn't like it at all while I really enjoyed Drop Dead Gorgeous.
posted by gadge emeritus at 8:34 AM on July 23, 2014

Well I tried. I've not seen the movie and would very much like to.
posted by Twain Device at 8:37 AM on July 23, 2014

It took me months of checking before I found a torrent for it with actual seeds. But one does exist.
posted by phunniemee at 8:40 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

"Like he just came in from snowmobiling."
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:41 AM on July 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

I remember seeing this in the theater, and laughing my damned head off, and nobody who came with me getting it at all. "It's so random and horrible," one of my friends said. "EXACTLY!" I said.
posted by xingcat at 8:54 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

I saw this movie in the theater when it came out and laughed so hard I thought I'd hurt myself. Started talking about it to my friends, assuming just everyone had seen this fantastically funny weirdness, and no one had even heard of it. This has not changed in the 15 years since.

Now I really want to watch it again, and it's not available. WHAT GOOD IS THE INTERNET???
posted by LooseFilter at 8:54 AM on July 23, 2014

(And I don't remember much, but I sure do remember Ellen Barkin with her hand melted into that beer can. Holy shit this movie is funny.)
posted by LooseFilter at 8:56 AM on July 23, 2014

I really am amazed at how non-available this is. I assumed that the Drop Dead Gorgeous shortage was exaggerated, but I bought the movie when it came out (first on VHS and then DVD) so I never had much occasion to go looking for it. I'd love a deluxe anniversary Blu Ray with that alternate, bleaker ending though!
posted by bookwo3107 at 9:03 AM on July 23, 2014

For one second I read this as Buzzfeed being 15 years old...

Same here, and the thought horrified me. As if I suddenly realized that evil cannot die.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:10 AM on July 23, 2014

iTunes US has it in HD for $12.99 and $9.99 SD. Alas, doesn't appear to be rentable. Can't speak to Rest Of World about availability, but the movie's old enough that it's probably at least distributed everywhere.
posted by eriko at 9:54 AM on July 23, 2014

I had no idea I had such a rare item in my rather small DVD collection.

This is such a funny movie, and basically nobody has ever heard of it except for a tiny few. I should show my copy to more people, just to see if they get it.
posted by hippybear at 10:06 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh the memories. I've always been of the opinion that this gem suffered because the moutbreathers out there just don't appreciate or care to watch 90% ladypart ensemble movies. I always bring this movie up (along with the Christopher Guest movies) in conversations about how "groundbreaking" it is when Melissa McCarthy et. al. are cast in comedies.
posted by Lisitasan at 10:11 AM on July 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

If you check Amazon UK, you can find used DVD copies for a buck or two. Amazon Canada might also hold similar hidden treasures.

I'd never heard of it, but watching "the most smartest" clip totally won me over. Looking forward to watching it - thank you MeFi!
posted by fraula at 10:17 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

My parents and I saw it in theaters and laughed our butts off. Watched it at a screening a few months back and was so confused that no one was laughing as hard as me, considering I've got most of it memorized. Maybe it is in fact not funny to some people. Some people who really liked, I don't know,"I Love You Man"* Whatever, that just makes it more useful as a litmus test. Someone who doesn't like Drop Dead Gorgeous probably isn't going to go to my A Mighty Wind/Thin Man double feature, for example.

The Alamo Drafthouse, at least the one in Austin, has shown it at least once as part of its "Girlie Night" programming. I propose a meet up if it happens again.

*-Did anyone like "I Love You Man"?
posted by theweasel at 10:25 AM on July 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

Oh my gosh, what this movie means to my family. All of us, especially my elderly parents, quote passages from it. In fact it was the 'rents who first saw it in the theater and told us kids to drop everything and go, now, just go.

I have a copy bought from the $5 rack at Target many years ago. It's a prized possession.

Back in 2002 I was in a photo shoot for ad school. They brought in props, costumes, and a couple of volunteers to do makeup. One of the guys had worked on Drop Dead Gorgeous. Specifically, Ellen Barkin's charred beer-can hand. I swooned like a fangirl. He was really nice and incredibly talented, and it was an honor to sit for him. (I asked him if he could make me up like Nurse Diesel from High Anxiety. Orange lipstick, mustache, unibrow and everything. It was fabulous.)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 10:28 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

I discovered this movie on cable once upon a time and I think one of the reasons I still pay for movie channels is fear that cutting the cord means I might miss "the next Drop Dead Gorgeous" coming into my life.

Can we all agree Allison Janney is the bestest?


She makes a Chuck Lorre sitcom not just watchable but often very, very good, which basically makes her the Anne Sullivan of show business these days.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:30 AM on July 23, 2014

Geez, I had no idea this movie was now so hard to find. I liked it a lot and thought it had always been regarded as a darkly comedic hidden gem like, say, Election. If friggin' Showgirls can have a revival with a deluxe box set of ridiculous geegaws, surely someone can dig up a print of Drop Dead Gorgeous for re-release.
posted by chrominance at 10:38 AM on July 23, 2014 [3 favorites]

Saw it in the theaters twice; the second time I brought friends and we just howled. I think of this film every time I walk into a hotel with a large atrium.

Also, there was one heck of a moment of cognitive dissonance watching Mindy Sterling speak with a Minnesotan accent after only seeing her as the Lotte Lenya character in Austin Powers.
posted by Spatch at 10:44 AM on July 23, 2014

Huh. Drop Dead Gorgeous led to Gilmore Girls, in a way? That is ... perfectly apt. I approve.

(And I can watch it again tonight because I have it on DVD, go me!)
posted by rewil at 10:58 AM on July 23, 2014

I cannot BELIEVE that this movie isn't available to purchase more readily. $36 for a used DVD? No Blu-Ray? This is sofa king wrong.
posted by Tailkinker to-Ennien at 10:58 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

“This is the ultimate cult movie. You can’t see it. I will loan someone my VHS copy for anyone that’s interested.”

But what? I love this movie so much, I just assumed it was a worldwide smash hit and they had deluxe box editions and shit.

It's 10x the movie Mean Girls ever was.
posted by fshgrl at 11:30 AM on July 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

i bought it on vhs, then dvd, then vhs again, and then i think dvd (my friends and exes had sticky fingers, it seems) - so a few years ago when i saw it on the torrent list i grabbed that shit up. i figure for as many times as i bought it, i deserve to at least have a copy of it.
posted by nadawi at 11:32 AM on July 23, 2014

This movie taught me that Jesus loves winners.

(I have it in DVD too! I had no idea it was so hard to find.)
posted by killy willy at 11:36 AM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

Guys get out of Mount Rose all the time. For hockey scholarships. Or prison.
posted by davidjmcgee at 11:50 AM on July 23, 2014 [4 favorites]

In my alternate reality, Amber Atkins never made it out of Mount Rose and, 15 years later, she's stuffing her own daughter's tap shoes down her panties.
posted by Foam Pants at 12:09 PM on July 23, 2014

Ooo, I have the rare DVD too. Excellent. Such an awesome movie apart from the completely unnecessary vomiting scene.
posted by davros42 at 12:50 PM on July 23, 2014

I remember seeing this in the theater when it first came out and being absolutely convinced that with her combination of stunning good looks and impeccable comic timing, Denise Richards was sure to be the next big movie star.
posted by The Gooch at 12:58 PM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

The DVD is available on eBay for $9-$20.
posted by Lisitasan at 2:42 PM on July 23, 2014

Denise Richards is a hell of a good sport, I'll give her that. When she sings that I just cringe.
posted by fshgrl at 3:15 PM on July 23, 2014

Oh my god I love this movie so much and now that I know it's hard to get a hold of I'll treasure my dvd even more fiercely. It's so hilarious and quotable.

Oh, yeah, sure, Freda, sure. She was the oldest living Lutheran, now she's dead as a doornail. It's the damn Shriners who won't take down the Goddamn sign, the lazy sons of bitches. Every year, every damn year, I tell 'em, "Take down the Goddamn Freda sign, you lazy sons of bitches!"
posted by supercrayon at 3:22 PM on July 23, 2014 [3 favorites]

iTunes US has it in HD for $12.99 and $9.99 SD.

Right title, wrong movie
posted by LooseFilter at 3:34 PM on July 23, 2014

... did anyone like "I Love You Man"?

I liked it. It made me laugh. Though I suspect it's more of a film for guys, generally. And I thought the idea of examining how men form friendships was a fresh idea for a comedy.

But for what it's worth, "Drop Dead Gorgeous" was a funnier movie. Like a lot of people here, I'm surprised it's so hard to find now.
posted by spoobnooble II: electric bugaboo at 6:24 PM on July 23, 2014

Oh my gosh, this is one of my favorite movies and I had no idea it was so hard to find these days. Or that it was so hated when it came out. I thought it was just one of those tragically overlooked movies that more people would have loved if they'd given it a chance.

We own two copies of this DVD, and my household is re-watching one of them RIGHT NOW thanks to this post! The other one is still sealed, and we are currently discussing what expensive lifestyle decisions we can underwrite if we sell it.
posted by jessypie at 7:47 PM on July 23, 2014 [5 favorites]

The DVD is available from Netlfix, just not streaming.

"O my God! Jesus Christ on the cross! Never sneak up on the living in a funeral home."
posted by fshgrl at 9:10 PM on July 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

I have it on DVD from long ago, they need to re-release it! So funny.
posted by SarahElizaP at 10:13 PM on July 23, 2014

I think I sold my copy in a yard sale two years ago. Dammit.
posted by elsietheeel at 1:49 PM on July 24, 2014