Little Miss Sunshine was definitely the independent film of 2006. Garnering four Oscar nomination (two of which were wins), six BAFTA nominations (with two wins), a Golden Globe nomination and one of the highest bids for a film in the history of the Sundance Film festival, I must say expected nothing short of greatness from Little Miss Sunshine. Described by the Daily Mail as “The funniest comedy of the year by a mile”, I expected a primarily cheerful film filled with belly-laughs throughout. This was not what I received but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The opening sequence provides a concise introduction to each of the characters. We open with Olive, the hopeful beauty queen watching a video of the Miss America pageant imitating the actions of the winner. Richard, the motivational speaking father delivers an enthusiastic speech to what turns out to be a room of less than five people. Dwayne, the determined future pilot on a vow of silence lifts weights in his bedroom with an image of Nietzsche, the length of wall, in the background. Supportive mother and wife Sheryl argues with her husband en route to collecting her brother Frank. And just before the opening titles we are introduced to Frank who has just attempted suicide.
The story is set in motion when the family receives a call saying that Olive has been selected, by default, to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. The story then transforms from a tale of a dysfunctional family to a family road trip movie. During the course if their journey the individual problems of each family member become progressively bigger; Richard has very little success with his motivational success programme, Dwayne’s dreams of being a pilot may not be as possible as he hopes, a catalyst for Franks attempted suicide appears and Sheryl takes on the problems of everyone else.
The performances by the cast as a whole are wonderful. Greg Kinnear is greatly watchable as Richard Hoover. Toni Colette’s performance as Sheryl is another fine example of Toni Colette’s ability as a character actor. Paul Dano is fantastic as the silent and angst filled teen, Dwayne. By the time Little Miss Sunshine was released we already believed Steve Carell to be a solely funny-man, making his performance as the suicidal Proust scholar, Frank. Abigail Breslin is adorable as the naïve and innocent Olive. Alan Arkin absolutely steals the show as the grandfather resulting in a well deserved Oscar win.
This is the first feature film from directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton and it definitely doesn’t show. The film is very well executed and a debut that many would love to have in their filmography.
All in all, Little Miss Sunshine is a great independent feature that I would definitely recommend.
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Take a hilarious ride with the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families in ... more
comedy history.Father Richard (Greg Kinnear) is desperately trying to sell his motivational success programme... with no success. Meanwhile, pro-honesty mom Shery...
Advantages: Lovely bizarre road movie, perfectly balancing family dilemma and humour Disadvantages: Can seem slow and, sometimes, a little over the top
![Little Miss Sunshine [DVD] [2006]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78189332.jpg "Little Miss Sunshine [DVD] [2006]")
Aug 26th, 2009
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