Review: Little Miss Sunshine

In what looks to be one of the sleeper Indy hits of the year, “Little Miss Sunshine” brings us a rare gift: The enjoyable road trip film.

We’re introduced to an incredibly dysfunctional family cast of characters in the beginning of the film. Richard (Greg Kinnear), a self-made businessman obsessed with being a winner in life, Sheryl (Toni Collette), a mom trying to keep everyone happy, Grandpa (Alan Arkin), a heroin-addicted old man who seems to be hanging around simply to make his grandaughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) happy, Dwayne (Paul Dano), a nihilistic teenager who’s taken a vow of silence for over a year after reading the works of Nietzsche, and Frank (Steve Carrell), a gay professor who recently tried to commit suicide. They head across country to California after it’s revealed that Olive will be competing in a national beauty pageant. All of these actors and actresses put out excellent performances across the board, and the chemistry and conflict between them works wonderfully.

I know this is cliché, but the phrase “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry” really applies here. As the movie moves along quietly, we’re revealed more and more into the inner depths of the characters on the trip. They all have their weaknesses, and they all have their strengths, and it’s about how they still manage to stick together as a family that makes the difference.

Drama aside, the film is absolutely hilarious. Alan Arkin and Steve Carrell put out side-splitting performances and there’s some times when the theatre I was in was roaring with laughter. I don’t want to spoil any of the scenes for any of you, just make sure to check the film out.

9/10