Let the Sunshine In on a Dismal Movie Season

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2006)

A dysfunctional family in a dysfunctional vehicle en route to a dysfunctional event makes for a fine comedy, thanks to a good script and a gifted cast. Take a failed inspirational speaker who spouts the wisdom of his nine points to success, a young man who has taken a vow of silence until he gets into the Air Force Academy, a gay professor who has just blown a suicide attempt, an old man who is into snorting cocaine and reading porn and throw them together in an old mini-van with a broken clutch and you have "Little Miss Sunshine." The film's title refers to a pre-teen beauty pageant in which the only seemingly normal member of the family, young Olive, has been entered.
A road movie at its core, "Little Miss Sunshine" offers enough laughs to coast through the few slow parts. Unfortunately, with the resurfacing of the Jon Benet Ramsey murder case, the scenes at the beauty pageant have an unsavory aspect as the young girls cavort in grown-up outfits and pose provocatively for the audience. For this viewer, young Olive, refreshingly dressed as a little girl, outshines the other overly made-up and overly rehearsed contestants. Greg Kinnear is fine as the father, although his drop-dead-handsome looks are at odds with those of the rest of his screen family. Toni Collette as Kinnear's wife is always good, and Steve Carell leaves "The Office" behind and gives an underplayed performance as the gay uncle. Alan Arkin makes a welcome return to the screen as Kinnear's father, who offers his own advice on life, which largely centers on drugs and sex.
Not since "Happy, Texas" a few years back has a small, low-budget comedy come out of nowhere to brighten an otherwise dull movie season. With snakes, super heroes, and gross-out comedies filling the screens, discerning viewers can find relief and some intelligence in "Little Miss Sunshine." Two hours with this odd ball family as they lurch towards California is time well spent. Despite deep-seated differences and outward disdain, these six people show that family ties are deep and pull members together in times of crisis.