'Miss Congeniality 2': Armed with Sandra Bullock, but not fabulous

Full disclosure: I am a huge Sandra Bullock fan. I loved "Miss Congeniality" and liked a lot of her lesser efforts, such as "Two Weeks Notice" and "Hope Floats."

"Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" is the uneven sequel to her 2000 hit. Though it's been four years since the original, "MC2" takes up less than a month after plucky FBI agent Gracie Hart (Bullock) became famous for foiling an attempt to blow up the Miss United States pageant.

Warner Bros. Pictures 'Miss Congeniality 2' C- The verdict: Not exactly fabulous, but Sandra Bullock keeps things going. Director: John Pasquin Starring: Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Murciano, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson and Heather Burns Run time: 115 minutes Release date: March 24, 2005 Rating: PG for sex-related humor See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer   -- Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Miss Congeniality 2"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Her sudden celebrity is a liability. An undercover bank sting goes bad when a fan asks for an autograph. So her boss (Ernie Hudson) suggests she become "the new face of the FBI," as part of a public relations blitz.

Ten months and one extreme makeover later, she's fabulous and armed with that disarming facility to be brightly shallow while talking about the FBI and plugging her ghostwritten book ("From Misdemeanors to Miss Congeniality") on the talk-show circuit.

So far, so funny. Then the plot kicks in, which is some silly drivel about Gracie's pageant pals (Heather Burns and William Shatner) being kidnapped.

Sent to Vegas on a promo tour, Gracie takes things into her own hands and goes back to being a real agent, much to the displeasure of Hudson and the Vegas bureau chief (Treat Williams).

Regina King co-stars as Sam Fuller (a jokey reference to the famous director), the agent assigned to be Gracie's bodyguard. We're told she has "anger-management problems," which explains, I guess, why King ("Ray"), usually an inventive and appealing actress, spends much of the movie wearing a sour scowl. Or maybe she just realized what a cruddy part she'd been given. In an even cruddier movie.

Despite the slapped-together script and tepid direction, Bullock continues to enchant. Whether she's a sleekly glamorous P.R. Barbie with a gun in her Fendi bag, an introverted klutz describing the beauty contest as "being like my high school reunion, except people liked me" or pursuing a police action with fake boobs hanging around her waist, Bullock is irresistible. She's a terrific ensemble player and her comic timing is as sharp as anyone's in the business.

Further, she goes places most movie stars would rather avoid. For instance, her boyfriend (Benjamin Bratt in the first movie) breaks up with her on the phone and though we never hear what he's saying, her bewildered responses — need space? going too fast? — and crushed expression tell us everything.

"Miss Congeniality 2" isn't a total waste of your time; Bullock sees to that. But it is a waste of the star's time. Like sports heroes and ballet dancers, actors have a limited shelf life. Unique and beautiful as she is, Bullock needs to find herself some better scripts. (Given that she also produced, doubly so.) For her sake as well as ours.