Everybody loves a good success story—but we love an underdog even more.
Drop Dead Gorgeous, a 1999 mockumentary directed by Michael Patrick Jann, was initially a certified flop—both with critics and at the box office. A violent, darkly comical look at small-town beauty pageants, the film stars Kirsten Dunst as Amber, a girl who yearns to win the local pageant and use the scholarship money to leave her humble hometown behind. But things quickly turn deadly as her fellow contestants start dropping like flies.
Oh, and along the way, a murderer’s row of scene-stealing actresses turn up, each as sidesplittingly hilarious as the last, including Allison Janney, Kirstie Alley, Denise Richards, Brittany Murphy, Ellen Barkin, and even Amy Adams.
Drop Dead Gorgeous didn’t hit at first, but thanks in part to its iconic ensemble, the movie has since developed a devoted cult following—even if a few of its story elements are problematic by todays’ standards.
As we approach the film’s 25th anniversary, here are 20 facts about the strange, hilarious and off-kilter comedy.