Big Bob Freelander is a used car dealer, and the head judge of the Young American Miss Pageant held in
Santa Rosa, California. Brenda DiCarlo is the pageant's executive director, and her husband Andy is a resentful alcoholic. Andy is unhappy as he is about to become an exhausted rooster aging out of the local
Jaycee chapter, which requires the humiliating ritual of kissing the anus of a dead chicken. Thirty-three teenage girls, all local pageant winners from throughout the state, arrive in Santa Rosa where they are instructed by Brenda and assigned with local host families. Meanwhile, Little Bob, Big Bob's son, pores through the contestant applications analyzing the girls' breast sizes, and conspires with his friends to photograph the contestants in various states of undress. The girls are introduced to
Los Angeles choreographer Tommy French who teaches them dance routines. Wilson Shears, the pageant producer, clashes with Tommy, who is cynical and blunt with the contestants. The girls subsequently give interviews to the judges. While the girls shower in the auditorium locker rooms, Little Bob snaps
Polaroids of them through a window but is caught by Wilson, who forces Little Bob to hand the photos over to a police officer. At the Thursday preliminary show, novice contestant Robin Gibson is one of three winners. She later gets advice from her roommate, pageant veteran Doria Houston, on how to excel at the pageant, such as putting
Vaseline on her teeth to improve her smile. The following morning, Big Bob takes Little Bob to a psychiatrist over the previous night's incident, but Dr. H. Malvert assures Big Bob that Little Bob is simply a sexually curious boy. That night during a pageant performance, several contestants sabotage the gushing
Mexican-American Maria Gonzales' patriotic routine, damaging the stage sets. Meanwhile, Andy visits the Jaycee chapter meeting, but fails to go through with the initiation ritual. When he returns home, he gets into an argument with Brenda and shoots her with a pistol, grazing her shoulder. Big Bob visits Andy in jail the next morning to provide moral support and espouse American values, but Andy insults him, accusing him of speaking like a Young American Miss. Meanwhile, the show becomes more expensive than was anticipated, and Wilson pressures Tommy to remove a ramp because it is taking up seating. This results in Doria getting injured, and Tommy agrees to reinstate the ramp and to make up the difference out of his fee. Big Bob arrives at the final night of the pageant, which Brenda also attends despite her shoulder injury. After final judging, Miss
Fountain Valley, Shawn Christianson — an outsider to the other contestants — unexpectedly wins the state title. The following morning, Robin passes by Big Bob's RV lot, where he is attempting to sell an RV to prospective customers. In a patrol car nearby, the policeman who confiscated Little Bob's photographs stares at a full-frontal nude photograph of Karen Love, Miss
Simi Valley. ==Cast==