Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine is almost too painful to be considered a comedy. But, then again, it is just so excruciatingly painful it HAS to be considered a comedy. This fine film benefits from the cream of the crop cast, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell and the additional supporters, Abigail Breslin, the miniature scene-stealing daughter, Paul Dano, as the Nietzsche-admiring, angst-filled teenaged son and veteran actor, Alan Arkin, as the abrasive, drug-snorting grandfather along for the wild road trip that makes up this heart-warming film.
As much of the film takes place on the road with the traveling clan heading from New Mexico to California for the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant, viewers are treated to the beautiful scenic backdrop of California’s Mojave Desert throughout a good portion of the movie. Sure the car is filled to the brim with dysfunction and sarcasm, but there are occasional bouts of relief in the glimpses of serenity in the cacti, sand dunes and desert landscapes whizzing by. Even if the movie was not the prize that it is, the breathtaking cinematography would be worth the show.
The movie, directed by husband and wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, begins soon after the suicide attempt of Carell’s character, Frank. His sister, Sheryl, played by Collette, lovingly takes him into her very humble abode with husband, Richard Hoover (Kinnear) and the rest of the Hoover clan. Upon learning that the youngest Hoover, adorable little Olive, has gained a place in the California-based Little Miss Sunshine pageant by default, the whole family decides to pack up the VW bus and trek out west. Dwayne, the fifteen-year-old son who has taken a vow of silence to avoid his feckless family, grudgingly even accepts admission into this long journey.
On the road, we truly see just how unfortunate this family really is. Richard is a fledgling motivational speaker optimistically waiting for his big break that just isn’t going to happen. Sheryl is the put-upon wife who feels forced to do it all and, as such, has become the poster-child for pent-up aggression—mainly directing the disdain at her, albeit deserving, hubby. Grandpa Hoover, for all his drugging ways and codger-y problems, showers his beloved Olive with love and even plays the role of choreographer in preparing her for the upcoming contest.
Despite a series of mishaps, the team makes it to the pageant at the very last minute only to swim into a foreign sea of made-up mini-harlot-looking contestants to Olive’s little-girl-ness. Apparent to her family that Olive is at risk for embarrassing herself they almost pull her out of the pageant’s showcase talent component. Her show goes on, though, to hilarious results. Not to reveal the main punch line, but as it turns out, the dance routine fed to her by her dear grandpa is a bit on the pole dancing side of risqué. Short of throwing tomatoes at her act, those hypocritical audience oafs fail to see the irony in parading their young chicas as full grown, sexual women but screaming assault to their senses at her precocious display.
Little Miss Sunshine is such a delight amidst the tawdry or just plain crappy movies on the market today. It shines and doesn’t miss the mark even a little.
Grades
Overall: A
Story: A
Acting: A
Visuals: A-
Originality/Innovation: A
Enjoyability: A
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