Little Miss Sunshine

Hi - Normally, I choose to write about terrible movies because reviews of bad movies are always more fun to read (and write) than reviews of great movies (or mediocre "blah" movies...see "The Devil Wears Prada"). In this instance, I am going to make an exception. Little Miss Sunshine is a great movie. Starring Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin and Toni Collette, it certainly has a talented cast. Their performances, along with that of young Abigail Breslin as daughter and pageant contestant Olive, are what really make the movie shine.



The Hoovers are a fractured family. Dad is a wanna-be self-help guru whose literary ambitions are in question, Grandpa's been kicked out of his retirement community for snorting heroin, son Duane has taken a vow of silence, and uncle Frank just attempted suicide following the Mother of all bad break-ups. Mom is the harried, but genuine force struggling to keep the family together. When Olive is invited to enter the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in Redondo beach, the entire family accompanies her on the long road trip from Albuquerque via an aging VW bus.

I don't want to give away any more of the plot of this movie simply because it is so good. Road movies have an element of predictability to them...they nearly always touch upon the themes of exploration, growth and self-knowledge. This one is no different, however it mixes comedy and some very, very dark material seamlessly while giving you an amazing closeness to and empathy for the characters. Are there moments that rely heavily upon the viewer's suspension of disbelief? Sure...but they don't take a thing away from what is an excellently acted, beautifully shot movie the likes of which hasn't been made in quite a while.