Miss Firecracker

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Miss Firecracker

PG,

1989,

1h 42m,

Comedy/

Drama

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82%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Carnelle Scott (Holly Hunter) is a restless Mississippi girl looking for a life change. She decides to enter a beauty pageant, which her cousin Elaine (Mary Steenburgen) had won years before. Despite a lack of support from those close to her, including conniving cousin Delmount (Tim Robbins), Carnelle remains determined. She enlists the help of a seamstress (Alfre Woodard) to outfit her for the competition, while rebuffing the advances of predatory men, as she aims to bring home the crown.

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Dolores Barclay

Associated Press

Oct 25, 2018

Ultimately, Miss Firecracker is a sweet celebration of humanity, of just plain folks trying to get by.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Apr 3, 2003

4/5

A neglected gem with sensational performances by everyone, especially Steenburgen and Woodard.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

3.5/4

What finally makes Miss Firecracker special is that it is not about who wins the contest, but about how all beauty contests are about the need to be loved and about how silly a beauty contest can seem if somebody really loves you.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 5, 2026

"Miss Firecracker" is a huge cotton candy of a movie: There's not really much there; but it's gaudy to look at, and sweet going down the gullet.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Aug 21, 2017

B+

A gentle, off-beat satire that characterizes a bunch of Southern oddballs striving for acceptance.

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Chuck O'Leary

FulvueDrive-in.com

May 7, 2007

2/5

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Theodore S

Apr 28, 2019

Holly Hunter, Scott Glenn, Alfre Woodard, Mary Steenburgen, and Tim Robbins Carnelle works in a fish factory in Mississippi but is unsatisfied with her current lifestyle she feels if she enters a beauty pageant like her cousin, Elaine did she can make something of herself yet it feels like everyone doesn't have faith in her entirely her cousin Delmont comes back into town to make something of himself but he's been in an institution for 2 years without any help from anyone he also wants to sell Carnelle's home to make enough money to fix everything this really is one of Holly Hunter's best performances and as Carnelle she's fully committed to proving she belongs somewhere are beauty pageants so superficial and full of fake people, everyone wants to be beautiful without accepting there are limitations, maybe winning or losing actually builds character, maybe what we really want out of life is some eternal grace

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Thomas Schlamme

Director

Holly Hunter

Carnelle Scott

Mary Steenburgen

Elain Rutledge

Tim Robbins

Delmount Williams

Alfre Woodard

Popeye Jackson

Scott Glenn

Mac Sam

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Synopsis

Carnelle Scott (Holly Hunter) is a restless Mississippi girl looking for a life change. She decides to enter a beauty pageant, which her cousin Elaine (Mary Steenburgen) had won years before. Despite a lack of support from those close to her, including conniving cousin Delmount (Tim Robbins), Carnelle remains determined. She enlists the help of a seamstress (Alfre Woodard) to outfit her for the competition, while rebuffing the advances of predatory men, as she aims to bring home the crown.

Director: Thomas Schlamme
Producer: Fred Berner
Screenwriter: Beth Henley
Production Co: Corsair Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 28, 1989, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 17, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $646.9K
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround

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