Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Very sharp, very funny mockumentary about a beauty pageant in the small town of Mount Rose, Minnesota. 

Every member of the cast is outstanding. Kirsten Dunst is the sweet Amber Arkins, who wants to follow in the footsteps of her hero Diane Sawyer. Ellen Barkin plays Amber's mother, and Allison Janney is her mother’s friend. Kirsty Alley plays the head of the pageant’s organising committee and a former winner of the same competition. Meanwhile, her daughter (Denise Richards) may or may not be killing off her rival contestants.  

Surprisingly, the film wasn't a success. It’s in the style of This Is Spinal Tap and Best in Show, but it has a savage black humour and intelligence of its own.

Starship Troopers (1997)

Stunning hybrid of sci-fi, horror and war film that cleverly masters those genres while simultaneously pastiching them. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, and based on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel, it also works as ultra-black comedy in the way it satirises military propaganda. 

Earth is at war with a devastating species of bugs. A young soldier named Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) enlists to fight, and moves up through the ranks. He’s involved in different ways with two colleagues – “Dizzy” (Dina Meyer), who fights alongside him in the Mobile Infantry, and Carmen (Denise Richards), who is a gifted pilot. Blandly handsome and obedient, they perfectly epitomise the patriotic ideal. 

The effects are extraordinary, and they don't seem to have the slick veneer of CGI. It’s extremely violent, with plenty of bloody dismemberment presented in a semi-cartoonish manner, but it’s also a hugely entertaining romp that's both intelligent and memorable. I liked it even more on second and third viewings.