Joyce Parkins (Leslie Stefanson), is a news reporter and ex pageant contestant from the 2000 movie entitled "Beautiful".
Joyce plays a jilted and bitchy determined tabloid entertainment TV reporter. Joyce has an agenda and threatens to expose Mona (Minnie Driver) prior to the National Miss Junior Miss Championship. She knows a secret that will eliminate Mona (Miss Illinois) from consideration. That secret is that Mona has a little girl, which according to pageant rules is not allowed.
In a flashback we see that the prissy Joyce was herself a pageant contestant under the name of JoJo Overschmidt. JoJo was an absolute bitch to Mona in competition. The two were heated rivals. She stole her talent for a competition right before the two were scheduled to perform in the 1992 Miss Naperville Pageant. The two were planning the same routine, which involved flaming batons, and the singing of "A Bicycle Built for Two". Joyce absolutely stole the idea from Mona the previous day when they were discussing talent. Joyce proceeded to laugh in her face when Mona confronted her.
In order to get her back for her evilness, Mona put industrial-strength adhesive on her baton prior to Joyce going on stage to perform in the talent portion. Mona added fire to the batons and then handed the baton to Joyce just prior to going on stage. Joyce began to prance around on stage in her adorable purple baton outfit with white lace opera gloves, and princess tiara on top of her head. She soon discovers that she is unable to throw the batons in the air as part of her act. She shows a panicked face, as she stares backstage at Mona, who she knows is responsible. Joyce attempts to release the batons by flinging them, but nothing she does is successful. She continues to panic, and you see her pry at them with her feet. The audience realizes that things have gone extremely wrong and they become silent. Mona appears on stage with a fire extinguisher, and unmercifully unloads the extinguisher on the baton putting the flame out. However, rather than stop with that, Mona proceeds to hose down her body, and finally her face. The audience gasps, and Joyce is left humiliated with a thick blanket of foam while sobbing on stage. It was a classic comeuppance moment indeed.
By seeing this flashback, we as a film audience, are finally privy to why Joyce is so determined to expose Mona. She wants to ruin her career just as Mona did to her. Therefore, revenge is the issue.
Next we see Mona being interviewed by Joyce with a studio audience. At this point, Mona has not figured out that Joyce and JoJo are the same person. Joyce is particularly rude to Mona, and points out that there were a number of incidents in which Mona viciously sabotaged some of her competition. She states that "Candy Bartholomew had a nervous breathrough after you stuffed a sock down her saxophone. Misty Waters had to go through psycotherapby after you smeared vasoline on your toe shoes. And a lovely young girl, JoJo Overschmidt's right hand was scarred..." With that the interview was abruptly stopped when JoJo ended it, not allowing Mona to respond or plug her causes. As Mona walked offset, she looked back at Joyce as the reporter smirked. Mona suddenly, realized that she was the little girl she had set off the extinguisher on. Joyce's scarred hand was visible as the scene cut.
Next, we see Joyce outside a courthouse reporting that Mona's roommate was being prosecuted for neglect of an elderly patient she had been in charge of. Joyce attempted to connect the crime of her friend to that of Mona.
It all boils down to the National competition, where Joyce plans to reveal Mona as being a mother. The two run into each other prior to the competititon on an elevator, in which Mona tries to avoid being caught with her little girl. Then during the final nights competition, Mona is set outside the studio with a camera to expose it all.
At the end of the movie, Mona is asked on stage the question, of "What do you like about yourself?". Joyce the reporter is waiting with mic in hand for this moment to expose Mona for the fraud she is. However, Mona answers, "I don't like myself" and acknowledges that she has a daughter. Therefore, she exposes herself before Joyce can do it. In the process, When the film crew with Joyce realize that their gig is up, they begin shutting down the lighting. Joyce tells them, "Wait a minute I wasn't through", to which the camera man responds, "Yes, you are". Joyce beins running after them in an attempt to get them to stay. This is the last we see of the ambitious and vengeful Joyce. Her career will no longer be fast tracked since she didn't follow through with her exposing.
Gallery[]
