Little Miss Sunshine

Very seldom does a movie come along that delivers light into the human heart. Little Miss Sunshine is such a movie.

The movie tells the tale of a dysfunctional family, who in support of their youngest member, Olive, agree to get in their VW Bus and take her to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant.



All the familial archetypes are there. There's the motivational speaker father, who, after attempts to sell his program, refuses to accept he has failed. There's the champion mom who believes everyone in the family should stick together. The older brother who has taken a vow of silence because of his dissatisfaction with his family. The uncle who has recently attempted suicide after losing his job and his graduate student of a lover. Finally, there's the fowl-mouthed grandfather who champions Olive and everyone to live life to its maximum.




The ensemble is fantastic. Greg Kinnear is clueless and at times heartless as Richard. Toni Collette caring and supportive as Sheryl. Paul Dano as Dwayne is great as the angst-ridden teenager. Abigail Breslin is adorable as the would-be Little Miss Sunshine, and Alan Arkin as Grandpa is priceless as the know-it-all patriarch who is surprisingly the family's champion. Watch for a heart-warming scene between Grandpa and Olive in a hotel room. There's lots of love in this family and the result makes even the coldest heart melt.



Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris direct a steller cast with a script by Michael Arndt. The movie tickles the soul and brings hearty laughs that keep you smiling long after the movie has ended. Ensemble casts have never been this great and stories have never made you appreciate your own family more. ***A***