How can you say that, this film is all irony!

Smile takes us behind the scenes at state-level teen beauty pageant, but while it's satirical, it doesn't need to do anything too extreme to get its points across. Indeed, if you told me every moment in here was anecdotally true, I'd believe it. It just lets the setting's innate absurdities and ironies speak for themselves. The vacuous interviews, the disinterested judges, the pointless sabotage, the organizers' self-importance... the documentary-style camera lends it all a smirking reality. At first, I thought the tangential subplot about local businessmen carrying on was surplus to requirements, but no, it plugs right into the film's ironies (the wholesomeness these adults ask of the young ladies) and themes (the empty feeling of pursuing purely superficial goals). A hidden gem from the 70s, possibly inspired by Altman's work.

Severely lacking in irony.