After watching Smile, you may never feel the same way about beauty or any other pageants ever again. In this picture, you go behind the scenes of the lives of those who are involved in putting together a pageant, in a satirical kind of way.
Smile is a 1975 satire comedy drama story directed by Michael Ritchie (The Bad News Bears), which is about California’s “Young American Miss” beauty pageant that takes place in Santa Rosa. This is the biggest event of the year for “Big” Bob Freelander (screen legend Bruce Dern, Family Plot) and Brenda DiCarlo (Barbara Feldon, Get Smart) who do their absolute best to have a successful pageant. But between Brenda’s marital problems with Andy (Nicholas Pryor, The Gumball Rally) who has a drinking problem and Bob’s son Little Bob (Eric Shea, The Poseidon Adventure) is in some trouble for taking photos of the contestants without their clothes on, this year’s pageant could be in trouble. There is also a sabotage incident to one of the contestants because she is Mexican and other problems with the production that is making the pageant especially difficult this year.
Smile is a decent matinee flick, but I felt that it was dated and did not find much in the way of humor. Sexism and racism is exploited throughout the movie. Seeing Bruce Dern outside of a biker or cult character role is odd to me. There are also too many subplots that I think Richtie was overwhelmed and was not able to get refocused on a few of them.
Fun City Editions debuts Smile on Blu-ray. The film has been given a 2K restoration from its 35mm interpositive and the results are astounding as the picture quality for Smile boasts bright, vivid colors throughout the viewing experience. Flesh tones look accurate, while scenery in both indoor and outdoor settings have plenty of detail. It does not appear that any DNR has been applied for this offering.
The English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for Smile is clear with dialogue and other sounds coming in perfectly clear. No audio issues were detected. English subtitles are available.
Fun City Editions has included a few ‘fun’ extras for Smile. The first lucky 2,000 patrons will have picked up the release with a limited-edition slipcover.
There is a 10-page booklet with an essay by Mike McPadden.
Smile features an audio commentary with actor Pat Healy and film curator Jim Healy.
A featurette, Dernsie’s Credo is an interview with Bruce Dern who reflects on the film.
There is an image gallery showing some poster art, film stills, publicity shots and more.
A theatrical trailer is also included in the supplemental package.
Overall, I wasn’t too impressed with Smile, but I feel fans who love comedy films from the seventies and early eighties might dig it. The audio and video quality for this release is superb and the extras take it up a notch! This is an easily recommended release!
Smile (1975)
Director- Michael Ritchie
Cast- Bruce Dern, Barbara Feldon, Michael Kidd
Country of Origin- US
Distributor –Fun City Editions / Vinegar Syndrome
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date-5/27/21