A starry ensemble cast, including Keira Knightley, Greg Kinnear, Rhys Ifans, and a crop of newcomers, gives equal representation to those who converged in London for the 1970 Miss World pageant, in which women’s rights protesters stormed the stage during a telecast that was seen by a worldwide audience.

Kinnear plays legendary American comedian and frequent master of ceremonies Bob Hope, who is made out here to be an unabashed philanderer and misogynistic pig; he has a harem of young female assistants in his home office, whom he hits on right in front of his wife, Dolores (Lesley Manville). Early on, Hope is asked by Eric Morley (Ifans), founder of the Miss World pageant, to come back to host the event for the first time in 10 years.

Meanwhile, Sally Alexander (Knightley), a single mother working toward her college degree in history, enlists with the Women’s Liberation Movement, a ragtag group of young women living together in a commune. Even though there isn’t supposed to be a hierarchy, the group is obviously led by Jo Robinson (a fiery Jessie Buckley). However, it lacks direction. Alexander sees the group as doing little more than committing juvenile vandalism against the patriarchy and less engagement in actual political discourse. So she helps by writing better slogans for their posters and appearing on a BBC talk show as their representative.

Still feeling like no one is taking them seriously, the activists decide to take action at the Miss World pageant by buying tickets and staging a happening during the ceremony. Though the contest provides opportunities for contestants to immigrate to London and/or win cash prizes, the feminists argue that women shouldn’t be made to compete with each other for men’s approval.

Misbehaviour wisely humanizes the pageant contestants as well, focusing on two hopefuls, Miss United States (Suki Waterhouse) and Miss Sweden (Clara Rosager), and the only two women of color in the competition, including the first-ever Miss Grenada, Jennifer Hosten (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). The script builds on the themes of diversity and feminism, depicting how each makes strides here in its own way.

However, the movie has so much story and so many points of view that characterizations fall by the wayside. Besides Kinnear’s portrayal of Hope and Buckley’s performance as Robinson, most of the characters are stand-ins for viewpoints and lack palpable personalities. Knightley’s Sally has the most screen time, and scenes of her homelife, debating feminism with her mother feel forced. I have a feeling most of Ifans’s performance hit the cutting room floor. There are moments when it looks like he is trying to make Morley out to be more eccentric than he lets on in the rest of the film. The contestants have some touching moments, especially involving Jennifer, but overall the movie washed over me.

It looks great (the period costumes are a standout), but because of its fast pace and shallow characterizations, Misbehaviour is just your run-of-the-mill British docu-dramedy.