The Little Movie that Could...

Rating: 8/10 (7 August 2007)

The surprise hit of 2006, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE is a lovely little movie that took family dysfunction and delightfully stood it on its ear in this warm comedy drama that, if caught in the right mood, will bring up equal parts laughter and tears. This is the story of little Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin), a little girl who lives in Albuquerque who learns she is going to be a finalist in a California children's beauty pageant called Little Miss Sunshine and the road trip that Olive's family takes to get her there in a broken down VW bus that the family has to push to get started. Michael Arndt's crisp, Oscar-winning screenplay brilliantly captures a family in shreds, on the edge of self-destruction, brought back to the possibility of life by having a potential beauty queen in the family. Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris effectively put us right inside that VW bus and have created a family unit you feel for. The cast is first rate: Greg Kinnear is Richard, Olive's workaholic dad who unknowingly has put a lot of unnecessary pressure on his daughter. Toni Collette,as always, is vividly real as Cheryl,Olive's mom and the family referee. I love Collette because she's one of those rare actresses you never see "acting." Alan Arkin won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his amusing turn as Olive's foul-mouthed, heroin-snorting grandfather and Steve Carell is also Oscar worthy in a dazzling performance as Olive's gay uncle, who has just been released from a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. Newcomer Paul Dano also makes a strong impression as Dwayne, Olive's big brother who hates his family and is on a vow of silence until he gets accepted into the air force academy. There are many laughs along this offbeat road trip and the story does take a couple of dark turns, but nothing out of the realm of reality for this story. The Hoovers do get to the pageant but the story even takes a couple of twists there that we don't see coming and, BTW, a bouquet to veteran character actress Beth Grant, who is hysterically funny as one of the pageant judges. And needless to say, Abigail Breslin is a revelation as Olive, a performance endearing enough to earn her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film was also nominated for Best Picture and after you see it, you'll understand why. Don't miss this gem of a sleeper.