|
Little Miss Sunshine
Directed by: Jonathan Dayton
Starring: Greg Kinnear
Genre:
Drama/Comedy
Run Time: 101 min.
Release Date:
August 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
The Screen Actors Guild
have an "Outstanding Performance by a Cast" award they give out
annually, and this year LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE must be among the nominees
(if not the recipient).
Never before has a story been so well told and equally acted. Moving the
audience to tears one moment and making us burst with laughter the next,
this script was absolutely brilliant.
And the story goes...
Young Abigail Breslin (SIGNS, 2002) plays Olive, a six-year-old whom the
entire cast orbits around. The first place contestant in a local New
Mexico beauty pageant got eliminated and Olive, who'd came in second, is
the default winner. She's going to California for the Little Miss
Sunshine finals. But due to financial limitations, the family can't fly
her, so all of them pack into a VW bus and head west. With Abigail comes
her barely functioning dysfunctional family. Her father is played by the
estimable Greg Kinnear (THE MATADOR, 2005). Richard (Kinnear) is the
only one who can drive a stick, so he has to go. But with him comes his
"are you a winner or loser" motivational comments that irk everyone
around him. Also with them comes Olive's older brother Dwayne (Paul Dano,
THE KING). The 15-year-old has taken a vow of silence until he's passed
a test that allows him to fly jets for the Air Force; he writes his
caustic comments on paper for all to read. Then we have Frank (Steve Carrell,
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN) who was recently released from the
hospital after slitting his wrists and is on suicide watch by the
family. A renowned Proust scholar, Frank found himself fired from his
teaching job after falling in love with a student; one of his male
students. Next we have Olive's grandfather played pitch perfect by Alan
Arkin (THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING, 2001). He's a
smack-sniffing, perverted old man with a misplaced heart of gold. He's
also Abigail's instructor for her dance sequence in the upcoming
competition. And finally there's Sheryl (Toni Collette, IN HER SHOES),
Olive's mother who is the glue that holds the family together.
Road trip movies are practically a dime a dozen, but many miss the mark
or become ludicrous. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE has no such problems. Bouncing
off — or sometimes smashing against — each family members' personality,
Olive (Breslin) is the unifying good-natured persona that makes this
entire flick so very watchable. Olive is a bit overweight, wears thick
eye-glasses, and has little talent. But her family loves her without
restraint and when they stuff themselves into the dilapidated VW, it is
her unflagging perkiness and smiling that drives them onward toward
California, even when confronting a failed father, a difficult brother,
a faulty clutch, or death.
The dance sequence at the end of the film is something of movie legend.
If you think about who Olive's grandfather was, the dance she chose to
do was outstandingly accurate (what other kind of dance could a
drug-addled, porn-watching old man teach?) Needless to say I cringed and
laughed at the choreographer's choice. It also made me ask "if" I should
be laughing at this, as it was completely deranged and inappropriate!
I'm going to risk a lot here and say that I haven't seen a film this
enjoyable in about two years. And the audience that watched it with me
seemed to agree; they all stood and applauded when the credits started
rolling. That says a lot, I think.
(back to top) |
Image from Little Miss
Sunshine
DVD cost: $20.98
Purchase:
Barnes and Noble.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite?
Yes.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
After Focus Features
backed out financially, producer Turtletaub bought the rights back from
the studio in 2005 and announced that he would cover the film's budget
himself.
Movie Quote: "I
couldn't help noticing that Dwayne has stopped speaking."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Little Miss Sunshine
   |
