Smile Pretty

One of two tapes in the Girls in America: Identity and Adolescence series (the other title is Run Like a Girl), Smile Pretty follows a small group of teen and pre-teen girls as they wind their way through the ultra-competitive world of beauty pageantry in their hometowns and beyond, vying for such titles as "Miss Peanut Princess," "Miss South Carolina Poultry Queen," and--I kid you not--"Miss Chitlin Strut." Smile Pretty offers neither narration, nor background, just scenes of moms and daughters preparing for and competing in weekend after weekend of what one girl feels is the female equivalent of her male counterparts' participation in sports. Except, as she points out, there is really no "judging" in most sports events: you can either throw far, hit hard, or run fast, or you can't. With pageants, it's much more subjective, with the outcome more-or-less depending on how the judges are feeling that day. To that end, we see the girls choosing silicone gel "supplements"; getting their hair straightened to the point of burning; and explaining how much it hurts to have their a) breasts duct-taped, b) arms and legs stuck in traditional pageant poses, c) swimsuits stuck to their bottoms, d) feet in those shoes, and e) hair teased to the point of tears. All this is supposed to give these girls confidence, self-esteem, and monetary rewards, but it's indeed difficult to see how "losing" (or even winning) one of these contests could accomplish any of that--quite the opposite, the tone here seems to suggest. An interesting take on a part of American culture that may have been heretofore unrecognized as being in the "suffering builds character" mode, but its lack of straightforward background material lessens its usefulness for the homework-crowd. Recommended, with reservations. Aud: J, H, P. (K. Glaser)