Little Miss Sunshine...

Rating: 6/10 (19 October 2008)

Recap: One phone call can change so much. The Hoover-family got one that will change their family for ever. Seemingly innocent, the call tells that daughter Olive has won a beauty pageant since the former winner has been disqualified. Now she is invited to the Little Miss Sunshine-pageant in California and the entire family goes on a road trip like no other.
Comments: As far as characters go, this movie got it all. There is the father (Kinnear), a success-coach that has yet to be successful. Mother Sheryl (Collette) is totally stressed out but struggles to keep the family together by literally putting food on the table. Eldest son Dwayne (Dano) has taken a wow of silence and can't wait until he can move out, Granpa Edwin (Arkin) is just mad at everything because he is disappointed with how his life turned out, and recent addition Sheryl's brother Frank (Carell) that just attempted to commit suicide over lost love and lost job opportunities. And finally, there is daughter Olive (Breslin) that lives for her pageants, but seem to be the one most connected to her emotions in the entire family.
What connects them all is the Dream. The Dream of what life should be like. They all have it, and they all, in their own personal way, fail at them. The net result is a family on the edge of implosion. Now add one long road trip in a VW-van with a personality of itself.
So, the characters are great, and you got a good cast too. Arkin won an Oscar for his performance but I'm most impressed by Carell and Breslin. They really embodies hope and disappointment, the two extremes on the path to the Dream.
And the script is good too. Some moments are just great. And there is a subtle touch of humor all the way. Unfortunately it is too subtle at times, and some stretches get a little long and dull. In fact some stretches I lost interest all together, until one of those moments brought me back.
All in all it is a movie to watch, at least once. Especially with all the buzz surrounding it. Now I've seen it once, that was enough for me.
6/10