Christina (Christina Goursky), like just about every other teenager in history, struggles with her appearance and with feeling beautiful. She’s smart, attractive, and headed to college, but a potential modeling career is what she has set her eyes on. Beauty Queen is the story of her emotional journey as she attempts modeling and struggles to understand what’s truly important in life. Her father, David (Timothy J. Cox), however, will do all that he can to allow her to find happiness.
Given that the struggles in which Christina faces are shared by many, Beauty Queen possesses the ability to resonate with everyone who watches, and I believe it does. I felt connected to the unassuming Christina, and I was able to commiserate with her struggles. As the film begins and the juxtaposition of “beautiful” and “smart” come into play, the reality of the film is realized, and from that moment I was intrigued by what writer-director Nicholas Goodwin had to say. Goodwin presents his viewers with a matter-of-fact way of understanding his content, and while there is technically some wiggle room in which the viewers may understand the information uniquely, his vision is quite clear. Conviction is one of the aspects that makes Beauty Queen so incredible.
I never doubted a word that was spoken or a single scenario present in the film, and while much of that comes as a result of Goodwin’s writing and directing, a supreme portion of that believability stems from the actors’ abilities to act and convey emotion. I’m particularly impressed with Beauty Queen’s lead, Goursky. She isn’t given a significant amount of dialogue, but she’s tasked with bringing to life genuine emotion and a story that needs to resonate with viewers. With the help of Cox and James Jelkin (Sebastian), Goursky shines so beautifully throughout the course of the film, invites viewers into her story, and educates them on the importance of beauty. All that she is able to purvey throughout Beauty Queen is necessary; it’s sometimes uncomfortable for a number of reasons--but its message is clear, and the world is better as a result.
Beauty Queen is incredibly predictable and leaves nothing to the imagination. Now, while I typically enjoy a good twist or a bit of mystery, I very much appreciated that Goodwin pulled no punches and expressed everything blatantly. If I had just one criticism of the film it would be that I wanted more. I want a bit more character development, and I want to see more of who and what Christina is, and I believe that time was a factor here. There isn’t enough time to generate more content. The concise nature of Beauty Queen, again, is appreciated and I love the fact that Goodwin is able to fit so much relevant and entertaining information into a short film, but I still want more.
Beauty Queen is somewhat of a rollercoaster ride. There are a slew of emotions present throughout the course of the film, and each ring true in the real world. Each and every viewer is able to latch onto an emotion, a scenario, or a character and bridge the gap between film and reality. Beauty Queen is well written and enticing in its approach toward normalizing intelligence as attractive, and I commend Goodwin, as well as his cast and crew, for bringing this relevant issue to the world’s attention and doing so in such an entertaining fashion.
Written & Directed by Nicholas Goodwin.
Starring Christina Goursky, Timothy J. Cox, James Jelkin, Thea McCartan, Sally Eidman, Jordan Gaches, Michael Francese, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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