Smile

Smile is a brilliantly satirical comedy film from 1975 that beautifully combines the elements of social satire, drama, and comedy, providing the audience with a humorous yet touching insight into American culture and traditions. Directed by the talented Michael Ritchie, the plot revolves around the beauty pageant 'Young American Miss' in Santa Rosa, California, showcasing the true nature of the competition behind the scenes. The film stars an ensemble cast including Bruce Dern, Barbara Feldon, and Michael Kidd, all contributing excellent performances to bring life to an introspective but warm narrative.

Bruce Dern puts on a superb performance as "Big" Bob Freelander, a businessman in the area who plays the integral role of a pageant judge. He is humorously quotidian and small-minded, but his character gives the audience key insights into the small-town mentality of the era. As the story unfolds, the audience gets to see Big Bob wrestling with his personal and professional challenges while being surrounded by the pageant chaos.

Barbara Feldon, best known for her role in "Get Smart," shines brightly in the complex role of Brenda DiCarlo, the driven yet neurotic executive director of the pageant. Brenda is the wife of the local car dealer Andy (Nicholas Pryor), who is having an affair which she determinedly ignores. Her portrayal of the pageant-obsessed woman bosom-deep in denial, who strives to maintain the facade of a perfect life, adds a poignantly comic aspect to the film.

Michael Kidd offers a wonderful performance as the show choreographer, Tommy French, hired to teach the contestants to dance and charm the audience. His battle with the youthful enthusiasm and naivety of the contestants creates a great contrast and adds further humor.

The film also features the beauty contestants who come from various backgrounds and have diverse ambitions. They are not merely beauty queens, but multi-dimensional characters with their own motivations – from Scholastic achievement, thirst for fame, to escapism, each girl has her unique reason for participation. Their interactions, rehearsals, compelling stories, and reactions to the pageant proceedings vividly depict a multifaceted picture of American teenage life in the mid-70s. Smile doesn't shy away from the social issues, e.g., commercial mindsets, modelling stereotypes, and the then-prevalent notions of beauty, pushing the film into the territory of social commentary.

While being funny and entertaining, Smile explores the socio-cultural dynamics inherent in a talent beauty pageant, delving into the hopes, dreams, ambitions, anxieties, and disillusionments of the contestants and the organizers alike. The film exposes the inherent contradictions within the American Dream through the richly layered narrative, which is both comical and tragic.

Richie smartly employs his camera not just to shoot the film, but to observe, to delve deeper into his characters, to lay bare the use and misuse of the power structures prevailing in the socially heightened environment of the beauty pageant.

The screenplay by Jerry Belson is sharp and humorous. It combines biting satire with elements of human comedy, flavored with a dash of melodrama. The direction by Michael Ritchie is top-notch, bringing out the best in the diverse cast, alongside maintaining an engaging pace through the run-time of the movie.

Philip Lathrop's excellent cinematography and Thomas Stanford’s crafty editing work in tandem to portray both the desperation and aspirations of their characters, making for a gratifying viewing experience. The soundtrack by composer Jerry Fielding further heightens the dramatic tension of the film, successfully capturing the vibe of the mid-1970s.

In conclusion, Smile takes you back to the beauty pageants of the mid-1970s in a small American town, vividly depicting the dreams, dilemmas, and aspirations of the contestants and their mentors, interspersed with laughter and emotive drama. The film assures a captivating watch and can be viewed not just as a period film, but essentially as a humorous and moving commentary on the paradoxes of the American Dream.