Little Miss Sunshine is a movie you must see. The movie has laughs, drama, but most of all it has heart. The husband and wife directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris along with writer Michael Arndt weave a seamless tale of losing but winning at the same time.
The top notch cast of Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, and the brilliant newcomer Abigail Breslin make acting look easy.
I’m not one to give everything away in a movie review so I’ll provide a brief overview.
Little Miss Sunshine is a road movie starring lovable losers trapped in an ailing VW bus traveling 900 miles in two days so Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin) can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. The family has many misadventures on what seems like a simple task. This film really exemplifies the feeling that it’s not the destination that’s so important but rather the journey.
Paul Dano’s character Dwayne the odd teenager evolves before our eyes. Alan Arkin’s twisted grandpa character manages to bring laughter, disgust, sorrow, and love in a short time. Greg Kinnear as the father who tries desperately to provide for his family as a want-to-be motivational speaker shows us winning is not always winning. Toni Collette is the hard working mom trying to keep tabs on everyone including Steve Carell as the tortured brother. Abigail Breslin’s Olive is the “glue” that holds the family together although no one realizes it.
This movie takes a close look at what defines family these days and what it’s like to win and lose in American society.
The thing that makes this film work is that it’s real. It’s not a perfect much like the family isn’t perfect. The other remarkable feat is the movie shows that sometimes losing at some of life’s various challenges doesn’t mean you’re not a winner.
Go see Little Miss Sunshine. You will laugh out loud and leave the movie theater thinking. I even laughed days afterwards thinking about things off camera.
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