A good message with hilarious qualities

Rating: 9/10 (22 August 2006)

I had the opportunity to view a free screening of Little Miss Sunshine in Chicago earlier this month and the film completely blew my expectations away.
Ranking right up there with The Squid & The Whale and Me, You & Everyone We Know as the best "Indy" movies I've seen in quite some time (if you can even call a movie with Steve Carell and Greg Kinnear "Indy), Little Miss Sunshine was enjoyable on every level. Every character in the film had an enjoyable quality about them that made you feel so many different things for them at the same time. The character who's performance stood out the most was Paul Dano's. He was a voluntary mute who seemed to hate the world and his family, yet early in the film you could see him act differently towards his sister Olive, he was still the big brother who wanted to protect her from getting hurt, despite the fact that he still had to give off his macho persona. His character was strengthened when he found out that he was color-blind, and couldn't become a pilot (the exact reason he took a vow of silence). His macho attitude took a backseat to his pain and he became much normal from the public's perception.
The overall message for the film is one that can be dangerously cliché and the fact that the filmmaker pulled it off without it seeming cliché makes it that much more impressive. Even after all of the treacherous events that the family encounters throughout their trip (grandpa's death, dad's deal falling through, color-blindness, etc), the family still finds peace through the central figure in the story, Olive. As all these incredibly humorous events take place, Olive is the one person who stays positive throughout, and even though she doesn't match up with the other girls in the pageant (incredibly over-emphasized, and rightfully so), all the family cares about in the end is that Olive is happy, and throughout all the turmoil they experience, they find solace in that.
Little Miss Sunshine is an incredible American Comedy that, despite it's small production and limited release, should garner Academy Award Nominations. If for nothing else, Best Original Screenplay. I recommend it to anyone.