When this film first came out thirty-four years ago (which seems impossible) the college crowd I hung with absolutely loved it. I was delighted to see it come up on one of the cable movie channels recently and after watching it again after lo these many years I am delighted to be able to report that its wittily insightful commentary has lost none of its edge or relevance. The flick really does deserve a place in whatever Hall of Fame is dedicated to commentary on American culture. It really is a comedy, but it has just enough raw edges to give it some genuine bite. The pacing is handled very well, and we are able to develop a genuine interest in many of the characters. The movie never descends to grossness or imbecility, although - given the subject matter, a regional beauty competition - the opportunities are plentiful. Bruce Dern's character is wonderfully drawn; it would be so easy to portray him as a dolt, but he is shown as a sincerely well-meant guy, which is what makes his subtly characterized thoughtfulness at the end of the movie so effective. Interesting to see Melanie Griffith - at the age of 18! - in one of her earliest credited performances. My favorite character is Michael Kidd, the choreographer; cynical, bitter, yet a true professional, he seems the only one in the flick that really cares about the girls, yet he has no illusions about himself. There are just so many wonderful moments in this film - thanks to a brilliant script and great direction - that it deserves a place as a minor classic of Americana.
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blanche-26 November 2009All the beauty contestants have to "Smile" in this 1975 film written by Jerry Belson and directed by Michael Ritchie. It's a take-off on pageants and American values in the '70s. It stars Barbara Feldon, Bruce Dern, Michael Kidd, and Nicholas Pryor, while featuring some familiar young faces as contestants: Melanie Griffith, Colleen Camp, and Annette O'Toole.
Feldon is the ever-chipper but icy "Young American Miss" who has no use for her drunken husband (Pryor) and devotes herself to the pageant; she's terrific, as is Bruce Dern as a used car salesman, the main judge of the pageant who has an enterprising son with a Polaroid camera. Best of all is Michael Kidd as the choreographer. Kidd started out as a ballet dancer, moved to Broadway, and finally Hollywood where he danced, acted, and choreographed, later adding directing to his list of talents. Here, he gives a wonderful performance as a choreographer whose cynicism and toughness hides a heart of gold.
There are too many vignettes among the contestants to describe - the talent competition that consists of packing a suitcase, the flaming baton; the rehearsals with the orchestra are hilarious, as is the contestant looking for her butter churn.
The film hits just the right note between satire/comedy and drama. Beauty contestants haven't changed much; they all want to help people, and being brought up without a father is a distinct advantage. Boys are still horny. And never has any of this been presented in a more of a light, amusing way than in "Smile." -
Extremely smart little satire that uses a state beauty pageant as a microcosm for a stinging look at American values, with hypocrisy rampant and greed triumphant. Writer Jerry Belson delineates his characters very carefully, so that we know whom to side with and whom to despise, and the nearly no-name cast portrays them brilliantly. Talented Joan Prather is the contestant we most identify with, decent, but slowly being corrupted as the urge to win overtakes her, and Michael Kidd is the semi-big-time choreographer who at first seems callous and unlikable but turns out to be merely seeing, and telling, it like it is. There's some too-easy comedy as we view the contestants' terrible talent competition entries, but at the end we've seen a remarkably thorough put-down of American values circa 1975. (Maybe it didn't get more attention because its utter honesty and accuracy about the American way of winning, a pet theme of the director's, made people uncomfortable.) The final scene, in the police car, is just a perfect wrap-up.
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MarquisDD17 March 2000So rarely do we find such a dark and acidic commentary filmed in such an exquisitely light fashion. "American Beauty" is an example of success in this genre, but the relatively obscure "Smile" reigns supreme.
It lays bare all the emptiness and hypocrisy of suburban America relentlessly and without mercy, and yet somehow manages to keep itself funny and bright and rarely deals with its subject matter with an overt contempt or scorn.
"Agent 99" Barbara Feldon is superb as the veneer ice-queen teen beauty pageant coordinator -- all diplomacy and smiles glossing over a charred and empty soul. (She greets the dog with smiles and kisses then ignores the husband.) Likewise, Bruce Dern portrays his vapid community leader role with perfect candor, and it becomes delicious to see him question what he perceived as the status quo.
A truly classic and trail-blazing film, well directed and edited and brilliantly written and acted. Such a shame it remains so obscure and unknown. This is one of my top five favourite films and becomes richer and more intricate with each viewing.
And I will never hear Nat King Cole sing the title song again and not picture the strained and pained perma-grins as the opening shot pans across the hopeful beauty contestants. -
lazarillo28 November 2004There's something very disturbing and creepy about the "wholesome" teen beauty pageant. It might be the "stage mothers" who are not just living through their daughters, but seem to actually be re-living the vainglorious days of their own pathetic lives before they became frumpy, boring housewives. It might be the way every male from the horny pre-teens to dirty old rotters leers at the teenage girls as they go through the "talent", "swimsuit", and "vim and vigor" portions of these ridiculous contests. Whatever it is, the subject is ripe for satire. This forgotten 70's movie is less famous than the more recent "Drop Dead Gorgeous", but it's really a lot more on-target as far as satire goes. Whereas the later film has its moments (Ellen Barkin's trailer trash mom with a beer can burnt onto her hand or the stupid contestant who has had a sexual encounter with Adam West), the satire in this movie is a lot more subtle and effective. There's the idiotic emcee who says things like: "Isn't she beautiful? Aren't they all beautiful? Isn't everybody beautiful?". There's the scary, Stepford-like pageant director (Barbara Feldon)who for the sake of "the girls" doesn't press charges after her drunken husband (quite understandably)tries to shoot her. Then there's the male community leaders led by "Big Bob" (Bruce Dern) who at one point dress in bedsheets and have an initiation ceremony in the park which ends up looking like an especially homoerotic Ku Klux Klan rally.
The adult actors are mostly just hilarious caricatures, but the contestants are more realistic and likable. The most famous faces are Melanie Griffith and Colleen Camp, but the main stars are Joan Prather (from TV's "Eight is Enough") and a young Annette O'Toole. The ending is kind of anti-climactic, but something about it kind of stays with you. It's not a great movie perhaps, but it was one made at a rare time when America could honestly look at itself in the mirror--and what is there is both funny and disturbing. -
caspian19784 October 2004A great film for those who have ever been, or have though of being involved with a pageant. The up's and down's of the pageant take center stage as this comedy deals with the roles that everyone has. The judges, contestants, family members, local residents, and even the horny teenagers in the area are all represented. Bruce Dern stars as the main judge of the pageant. Although it mostly his story the movie tells, his friends and the girls he judges have stories that are told. The very young and very beautiful Melanie Griffith co-stars as the eye candy of the pageant. She is the 'poster' of the film if not the main attraction. Having a small role, she ends up playing a bigger role than her characters allows her to have. Overall, the movie becomes a black comedy as the pageant progresses. In the end, some learn a valuable lesson while others just try to look pretty.
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chris.murray34 June 2001As with all the great episodic ensemble films (If..., Fame, Nashville, M*A*S*H)it's the little touches that makes this film quite so deliriously wonderful e.g.: The wide-eyed girl's nervousness of the orchestra; the cop's recapture of Little Bob's two accomplices; Maria's expression as the winners of the pageant are being announced; "...and that girl had a wooden foot"; and so on.
All of the cast are uniformly excellent, not one of them, major or minor, misses a beat.
This is one film that invites repeated viewings, until it almost feels like an old friend. I think that we should start a campaign to get this film the recognition it deserves. -
As much as I love Smile--and I DO love it--there's a faint odor of misogyny in its neighbourhood. Things I overlooked when I last saw the film over a decade ago now seem blatantly exploitative and, well, a little off putting. From the upskirt shot of Melanie Griffith in the early going to the ogling teenage boy who snaps Polaroids of naked lasses in their changing room to the final freeze frame shot of a topless woman's photo, one gets the distinct impression that director Ritchie is not that far from being an upscale Russ Meyers or David Friedman. And whilst there's nothing wrong with that in general, Smile's message--that the superficial world of beauty contests masks a seamier underbelly--is seriously undercut. Having said that, the film is still most enjoyable and filled with wonderful performances (especially those of Bruce Dern and Annette O'Toole), sharp writing (the sanitary napkin speech is hilarious), and the heartbreaking tones of Nat 'King' Cole over the opening credits.
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tsar6511 April 2006Director Michael Ritchie made two films in the seventies that nailed the suburban existence, not just of Southern California, but of America right on the head.
While Bad News Bears was a deserved box office hit, the under-recognized Smile is the better movie...and that's saying a lot as I adore them both. Having seen the recently released Thank You For Smoking and its lame attempt at broad satire it made me reflect about what made Smile so great. Ritchie genuinely cares for his characters, making them sympathetic instead of one dimensional cardboard cut-outs which would have been very easy to do. The many characters Ritchie focuses on are human, with all the foibles that entails, so while it may be easy to laugh at the beauty pageant contestants and their problems, you do it with a touch of guilt because they are so earnest in their attempt to win respect from not only the judges, but the choreographer (Michael Kidd), the den mother (Barbara Feldon), and ultimately themselves.
To mock them is to mock yourself for rooting for your favorite girl at the film's conclusion which fittingly, as it turns out, doesn't matter anyway.
Now that's good satire.
A truly under appreciated gem. -
Director Michael Ritchie's absurdist dark-comedy "Smile", written by comedy veteran Jerry Belson, was bound to become a cult favorite: it's funny and mean-spirited in equal measure. High school girls from California cities, of varying degrees of talent and inner beauty, gather in Santa Rosa for the Miss Young American pageant. Ritchie and Belson surprisingly don't take aim at beauty contests so much as they skewer small town American pseudo-values, with a collection of contestants prodded into the spirit of winning by their enthusiastic handlers. Several very funny vignettes--particularly when involving the winking, clueless musical director--though the backstage comedic-drama lacks spark. Both Bruce Dern's car-dealer judge and pageant coordinator Barbara Feldon's faltering marriage are liked speedbumps. Some of the humor is sharp, yet director Michael Ritchie tends to cool out Belson's cynicism and edge by darting around and picking up small bits of fluff on the fly. It's a satire American idealism, but not really a satisfying one. Several of the girls are very good, particularly Joan Prather and Annette O'Toole in the largest roles. **1/2 from ****
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edwagreen18 September 2010While "Smile" concerns itself with a beauty pageant, the weak plot here gives way to two interesting sub-plots. Bruce Dern, a pageant director, has a precocious son who takes pictures of the female contestants in the raw. After he is caught doing this, he goes off to the psychiatrist in a bit that could have even been funnier.
Barbara Feldon co-stars in this film as a former contest winner who is assigned to work with the contestants. Her constant saying of dear is annoying at best, but with her phony smile, she is hiding a bad marriage to a guy who eventually takes a shot at her.
All this being said, the plot about the pageant itself is downright ridiculous. The talent part is ridiculous and you know you've got trouble when you hear "Oy Vey!" after a girl's rendition of second hand Rose. Even Barbra Streisand would have been up in arms. -
billy-712 August 1998This wonderful comedy-drama has much the same tone as "Nashville." It's a satirical view of a place and time centering around a specific event, in this case a teenage beauty pageant. It has a couple of things "Nashville" doesn't have, however--a heart, and a great deal of affection for its flawed characters. Bruce Dern has never been sufficiently appreciated--often typed as a psycho--but he has never been better than he is here as a used-car salesman with a lot of inner torment. And Michael Kidd, the great choreographer, shows what an adept actor he can be in a supporting performance which in a perfect world would have won an Oscar, and in this imperfect one was not even nominated. Michael Ritchie, one of the most erratic of directors, here hits his career peak.
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This is an enjoyable comedy that takes a satirical look at beauty contests. There is a multitude of characters, not unlike "Nashville" from the same year, and the film mainly focuses on the interactions among them, with the plot being a secondary concern. Lacking a narrative push, the film goes on a bit too long at nearly two hours. Dern, who had previously mostly played psychos, gets one of his first starring roles here as a good guy and he is excellent as an auto salesman who serves as a contest judge. Feldon and legendary choreographer Kidd are also in good form. Ritchie, who made numerous films about competitions, is right at home here.
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Suburbanite9 February 2005I recently saw this as part of the London National Film Theatre's retrospective of 1970s American film. I had no knowledge of it beforehand, but what a gem this is.
It's not just a comment on beauty pageants, it also takes an incisive look at 70s American home life in everyday small towns, while examining the need to belong and fit in.
Overall though, it's very very funny, displaying a humour that is never over-the-top or played for easy laughs. This is helped by good, fluid, natural-sounding dialogue from writer Jerry Belson, and solid acting from everyone, especially Bruce Dern, Michael Kidd and Annette O'Toole.
Other things I liked included the way that the girls are often shown as the dignified ones while the (mostly male) pageant organisers and other satellite characters are shown in the opposite light, an interesting take for a film you might think is going to send up the idea of the beauty pageant mercilessly and depict the girls as nothing more than bimbos. Also, the way it neatly side-steps our possible expectation of seeing leering, lascivious men drooling over fresh young girls. There is an element of this, but it's kept to a subtle level in order to make way for better observations and more effective humour.
I highly recommend this, and if you do see it, look out for the scene where Big Bob takes his son Little Bob - for reasons I shan't bother explaining - to see a psychiatrist. I laughed more than I have at anything else for quite some time. -
sdave759620 March 2011"Smile" released in 1975, is director Michael Ritchie's commentary on the absurdity of beauty pageants. The movie takes place in Santa Rosa, as it is time for the "Junior Miss" California beauty pageant. Bruce Dern is spot-on as an RV salesman by day, and one of the judges of the contest by night. Interesting, he takes his part as a judge very seriously. Barabara Feldon plays a former Junior Miss, and she is at times hilarious as she is so intense and regimented about guiding the young contestants through the grueling competition. However, she has problems at home, including an alcoholic husband (Michael Kidd) who also seems to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Dern has a horny teen-age son (Eric Shea) who gets caught taking pictures through the windows of the girls changing their clothing, and then is sent to a psychiatrist as punishment! There is a bizarre initiation ceremony that Dern and Kidd attend, with the men dressed up in KKK attire. It has to be seen to be believed! Everything about this film reeks of the 1970's, from the famous "smile" pictures that were everywhere, to one of the contestants doing an imitation of the famous "Ernestine" the telephone operator, made famous by Lily Tomlin. For those of us who came of age in this decade (as I did) it was all so familiar and hilarious. The film is obviously a satire, poking fun at 1970's middle America. It was showing us who we were, warts and all. Look for a young Annette O'Toole and Melanie Griffith as two of the contestants, and all of the young ladies playing the beauty pageant contestants are quite good. The casting of this film is excellent. So check this out -- particularly if you remember this decade with the fondness, or maybe some groans too.
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theatermagic9231 August 2005i haven't seen the movie, only the stage production. The girls were amazing although i think the plot is a bit dry. If it weren't for the singing and dancing i would have spaced out at some points of the show. Although i don't really know as the director changed the ending of the script.Does anybody know where lyrics can be found because i love the song Disneyland! Its my favorite song ever but its not on any lyric site on the internet or on google or on ask jeeves! all i can find are places to order the movie, but no lyrics. post if you know where to find them! thanks so much! i would appreciate it! sorry I'm babbling but I'm trying to fill the space.
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qbine322 October 1999One of the most under-appreciated gems of the 70's, this dark comedy about a small town beauty pageant brilliantly depicts the emptiness and shallowness of living the "American dream" as it satires life in small town America, giving an especially humorous wink to civic organizations that culminates in grown men in white sheets forcing members of their "clan" who have recently turned 35 to kiss a dead chicken's ass filled with some kind of weird white cream that has haunted me for years! With rich writing, brilliant direction by Michael Ritchie, and dead-on performances by Bruce Dern, Barbara Feldon,Michael Kidd, Joan Prather, Annette O'Toole, Maria O'Brien, Nicholas Pryor, and Eric Shea. this film is a true unsung classic!
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Miss America made part of the American culture that spreading worldwide, in this picture the producers try expose the behind the scenes the whole contest, this early drafting of the dancing scenes, poems sequence, choreography of all contenders, the personal interviews of each one and the fashion show for all them in different outfits, all this fully monitored by a chief of the board Brenda (Barbara Feldon) also comprises the board member of the jury the most prominent citizens of the small town Santa Rosa.
Meanwhile the famous contest comes the usual collateral issues concerning the whole stuff, as when one member of the jury a loudmouth car salesman Big Bob (Bruce Dern) is spotted by photographed the naked girls at bathroom to sell for perverted teenagers, caught in act he was sent to psychological treatment, in other hand Brenda that was in charge with the contest had a had matter with her husband with alcohol abuse.
Between the girls contenders also have the troubles, under strong pressure the girls commit some mistakes and errors during the rehearsals, also during the official appearances, further appears others troubles to overcame, as the ramp located in from the audience, the wacky manager Wilson (Geoffrey Lewis) demands the withdraw due such space fits more chairs to sell at first row, displeasing the expensive choreographer Tommy (Michael Kidd).
Anyway an average kind of dramatic satire, pay attention in the newcomers Melanie Griffiths, Annette O'Toole and Colleen Camp as the gorgeous one, a slight sexual oriented neither!!
Thanks for reading.
Resume:
First watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5. -
patherto1 November 2004"Smile" is a slice of slightly rancid American pie that takes place (although you'd never know it) right in the middle of Watergate and temporary President Ford. Ritchie has succeeded in capturing a time that isn't that long ago. The place happens to be California, but anywhere in America would have done just fine. Bruce Dern stars, for once not in one of his psychopathic roles, as "Big Bob", the owner/operator of a mobile home lot. The lovely, ex-Agent 99, Barbara Felden plays the organizer of a young teen's pageant with a pearly smile and complete scorn for her alcoholic husband. The vignettes and stories interweave in a perfect blend of sarcasm, sentiment, and silliness. Sample (minor spoiler)-when the pageant organizer sees a girl being helped out of the auditorium with a sprained foot, he rushes over and asks, "Can I get you anything? a doctor? a Pepsi?" A great script I was surprised Buck Henry *didn't* write. And watch for what happens to that Polaroid (you'll know what I mean). A terrific movie with laughs and giggles galore.
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mark.waltz8 November 2022A very goofy tribute to teenage beauty contests, this is probably best known for featuring Melanie Griffith in a small role, playing one of the contestants, basically just part of the ensemble. This is mildly amusing, definitely a product of its time and featuring all the typical types of Acts you'd see on beauty contest at the time or bad variety shows. And that's actually not a bad thing because the worse they are, the more the merrier. One young comic hopeful does an impression of Ernestine from "Laugh-In" meets Edith Bunker while a variety of young female singers and dancers perform everywhere from horribly to sonewhat decent. There are the loose, boy crazy flirtatious girls; shy, innocent ones completely virginal, and the son of pageant director Bruce Dern hoping to score along with his group of constantly horny friends, saying truly tactless things about them when with his buddies that get mostly eye rolls but a few get chuckles simply because of the way they say their lines with typical teen innocence disguised through their false immature macho hormonal changes. Tommy Rall gets to be over the top as the show goes, but Barbara Felden is completely wasted.
The TV movie, 'The Great American Beauty Pagent", deals with more mature candidates and is probably better as a drama, but this one, a light comedy, is equally entertaining in spite of being so dated. It's easy to see why this was later made into a Broadway musical, although as a show, it didn't last long. Not much time for any real character development so the screenplay is just average, but everyone seems to be having a good time, and certain girls stand out more, particularly the Mexican-American one whose enthusiasm over being in the contest is joyous. This is a case of too many ideas involved in one film that really needed to focus on one or two stories rather than he basically a plotless sketch show. Yet its impossibile not to find certain elements of it irresistible, so it's definitely a cult movie of the '70s that is nostalgic if thankfully a view of a past kind of lifestyle that much of society now sees as phony, pretentious and audacious. -
hamletta5 August 2007My fellow commenters have done a lovely job of summing up the wonderfulness of this movie.
But I don't think enough has been said about Maria O'Brien.
She is the daughter of the late, great Edmond O'Brien, and she is off-the-hook funny in this movie.
I knew her "whackamolehthip" was laying it on thick, and I'm just a gringa with a good accent. And then she drops the accent when talking to the stage manager: "I need red and green gels for my entrance...."
"Applause, applause, applause...."
Maria O'Brien is brilliant.
She should be as famous as her father never was. -
akoaytao123416 June 2021Smile has an odd legacy under its belt. From what you will here in the grapevine, you'll probably here high praises. In summary, it will probably be described as a tight and funny satire of the small town mentality and the banality of beauty pageant world. An underseen classic!
I would admit do see why those praises were made. The film does have some great commentary and it does have great moments of comedy. BUT I just cannot truly see the greatness in this film.
Firstly, being from a Beauty Pageants obsessed country, I founds its commentary lacking of clear knowledge of the world it tries to mock. I do sense that maybe the passage of time has changed separated my truth with theirs, but I do think that the film gives a lack of credit with the beauty pageant world. Beauty vs Brains has always been one of the central criticism of pageantry ( pitting of women against each other not withstanding). But I do feel that people conveniently forgets that just like any presentation based competition (like Body building) will and always be plagued with questions on standard. Because aesthetic appeal is a personal thing. It is bound to be different from one person to another. And while there are signifiers of aesthetics (primarily repetition, order and symmetry), it is subject to how we like to see things. I just felt that better beauty pageant films (Drop Dead Gorgeous and Miss Congeniality) handled the weirdness of beauty pageants better and knowledgably satirize questionable aspects of the pageantry (i.e. Weird etiquettes and rules, the questionable governing body and odd but noble sisterhood that truly lies within those institution)
Lastly, The film's biggest problem is that it does not create a lingering image. It too sublime for its own good. I get why it got forgotten. Its not run-of-the-mill but also not out of the box. Its smart in parts but not compelling in any. Its has good parts but not great.
Overall, I would say that the film is tolerable. It is not the great piece of Americana or Beauty Pageant that people hype it to be but it does have great moments.
PS: This film gives off a weird racist vibe and has copious amounts of uncomfortable "male gaze" for a film about female Beauty Pageant. -
capitan_movie4 June 2000Santa Rosa, California, is the true star of this great satire. Barbara Feldon is magnificent as the hard-hearted pageant dominatrix. And Bruce Dern, is the true suburban everyman. Nicholas Pryor, Michael Kidd, and Geoffrey Lewis are all brilliant in their cynical supporting roles. But, the contestants steal the show -- especially Melanie Griffith, Joan Prather, Colleen Camp, Maria O'Brien, and Annette Toole.
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merlin-jones5 December 2011SMILE hits home as it was filmed in the summer of 1974 when I graduated from high school, in Sonoma County, where Santa Rosa is. It is an accurate representation of Santa Rosa, 1974. I know many of the people in it, and my friends white 62 Chevy Impala is used. I can point out to many faces in the audience during the pageant, including an old high school history teacher. For me now it is a ghost town movie, as the current Santa Rosa has grown 3 times the size. The town you see in the film has been developed out of existence, and now seems like a dream. SMILE is based on the Junior Miss Pageant, which use to be held at The Veteran's Memorial, where the filmed pageant takes place. Mark Ritchie coached the paid actors well, as I could believe they were like local folks acting out as Santa Rosans. As a Cultural Anthropology study Smile is a gem. It is a time capsule to 1970's Santa Rosa. Another film to see is Hitchcock's Shadow Of A Doubt. It too takes place in Santa Rosa around 1942, and has many points of location gone by the time Smile was filmed. Thorton Wilder wrote the Hitchcock screenplay for Santa Rosa, as he saw it as the best example of a American small town. The same can be said about Smile, but now Santa Rosa is an edge city.
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dougdoepke26 December 2014A wickedly humorous send-up of small town boosterism, in which the junior chamber of commerce talks into mechanical dogs for food, turns on artificial birds for the sounds of nature, and substitutes a relentless smile for genuine feeling. Where also: just thinking you're having fun is more important than the real thing, and upbeat cliché becomes a way of life. Suddenly, into this hothouse arrives a tacky version of that crown jewel of artificiality, the beauty pageant, an event sure to drive everything into warp speed, which it does, but with surprisingly low-key results. The film avoids outright cynicism by humanizing the teen-age contestants, who are, after all, also products of small town America. Nevertheless, the script makes the disconnect clear: ritualized behavior has benumbed genuine emotion. The boosters have lost their inner selves, as will the girls if they continue on the contestant path. Amidst a uniformly fine cast stands Nicholas Pryor, whose portrayal of a desperate drunk looks so authentic, it shakes up the entire movie. A holdout from the deadening groupthink, he simply can't cope with the surroundings. Yet it is his emotional depth, from hangdog expression to slumping carriage, by which the rest of the community is measured. There's an undercurrent of the rebellious 60's running through this film, and I suspect it sank quickly because popular tastes were turning away from ironical characters named "Freelander". Nonetheless, a revival of this neglected gem is long overdue, not only for its often surprisingly subtle humor, but for the continuing relevancy of the message. However, don't look for it at your nearest chamber of commerce meeting.