As a harmless, moderately funny suburbia comedy, very much in the British tradition of Full Monty, Calender Girls, etc.,La Guerre des Miss is fine and passes the time fairly pleasantly. However, coming from a director of Patrice Lecaonte's stature, who's given us gems such as Ridicule and The Hairdresser's Husband, this is a major let down & disappointment.
The thin and fairly predictable storyline concerns a bitter rivalry between two adjacent French villages, one affluent & the other struggling. An annual local beauty contest, which the affluent village has won consistently, becomes the film's point of conflict and the hub of the story. In a desperate attempt to match their affluent neighbours practice of bringing in beauty consultants to coach their candidates, the best the struggling villagers can come up with is to invite Franck, one of their old boys, whose greatest claim to fame is appearing as an extra on French TV movies, to coach their girls. Franck's attempts at getting the girls in shape for the contest, and his relationship with an old flame, create an amusing and diverting hour and a half. Fans of Patrice Leconte however may be disappointed and could not be blamed for having higher expectations.
