Synopsis

In the small Minnesota town of Mount Rose, ambitious teenagers compete for the Miss Teen Princess America crown. As the pageant approaches, rivalry between contestants and their families grows increasingly vicious, while a documentary crew captures the town's petty obsessions and social divisions. When contestants begin suffering suspicious accidents, the competition turns into a darkly comic struggle for survival.

Factoids & Trivia

• Screenwriter Lona Williams drew on her own experiences as a contestant in local beauty pageants. She also appears in the film as Jean, the pageant's non-speaking third judge.

• The film was originally titled "Dairy Queens." The title was changed after the Dairy Queen corporation filed a lawsuit.

• Although the story takes place in the fictional town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, the character and setting were inspired in part by Rosemount, where Williams grew up.

• Filming took place around Minnesota's Carver County, with Waconia serving as a principal location. The contestants' sashes use the names of real Minnesota communities.

• Most of Will Sasso's scenes were added during reshoots after producers felt the film needed more relatable male characters.

• The movie marked Amy Adams' feature-film debut.

• The film was released in the United States on July 23, 1999. It earned less than its reported production budget in theaters, but later developed a strong cult following.