Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen (2001)

Synopsis
In this documentary produced for the HBO cable network, child beauties and their parents throw themselves passionately into the national pageant circuit made famous by the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Presented with only a few factual intertitles and without voice-over narration, the 90-minute film focuses on delicate five-year-old blonde Swan Brooner and her no-nonsense mother, Robin Browne, as they try to parlay Swan's success at local beauty pageants into national recognition and cash prizes. A pair of big-bucks coaches, Shane King and Michael Butler, train Swan to walk, dance, sing, and flirt, even as they continue to groom Michael's daughter -- reigning champion Leslie Butler, age seven -- for a comeback after a nine-month sabbatical. Following these and other players from one weekend contest to the next, the film climaxes with the Dallas-based Gingerbread Pageant, where Robin hopes Swan will win back some of the 70,000 dollars she has invested in the girl's career so far. Produced for HBO's long-running America Undercover series, Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen premiered May 13, 2001. Writer/director Shari Cookson previously helmed HBO's Skinheads USA, while producer Linda Otto has worked on a number of child-themed films, including Unspeakable Acts, The Ryan White Story, Adam, and Adam: His Song Continues. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide