definitely worth seeing, it's dark, quirky, and well acted in equal measure

Rating: 8/10 (11 August 2006)

Sometimes I feel pretty uneasy about putting a certain label or name that might be attributed to independent comedy/dramas. But if there's any that can be used for Little Miss Sunshine, directed by husband/wife Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris- it's quirky. This is not necessarily a bad thing to say, and in fact this is a good tragic-comedy. But it also puts some limits on what can be done with the material. The script by Michael Ardnt creates his characters to fit into a kind of box that gives the actors playing them to give it some juice, though it's also only so much. There's some decent, sometimes very funny, comedy mined here, but it's actually the more dramatic, sadder points that ring truer in the material. The directors don't get in the way much of what the script/actors do, and it turns out to not be anything very special, but it has the charms that would not be found in most other Hollywood fare.
It's probably the cast anyway, not the story, and the possibilities in the roles that make it worthwhile. Alan Arkin as the crude, foul-mouthed, drug addicted grandfather possibly is my favorite, as he gives his funniest performance in a long time, probably to rank with his best. And Steve Carell gives more to add to his current streak of becoming more than just a great comic talent- his acting is the best side of the dramatic coin as the anguished gay ex-professor who tried u-successfully to commit suicide. Some of his scenes ring the harshest in the film. But also there's Greg Kinnear as the driven, un-yielding father of the house who has his '9-step' program but still can't get his life together. Only little Olive (the talented young Abigail Breslin) and her mute-by-choice angsty-teen brother (Paul Dano), have real goals they want to achieve. But by the end of their journey, all things wont quite be the same again (as case may be with this kind of indie quasi-formula).
In fact Little Miss Sunshine could be the true independent-film equivalent of National Lampoon's Vacation. The same vulgar humor here is not totally absent, but given a more realistic coating with the wacky antics that befall them (i.e. a certain dead body, a mission to reach at all costs, a rickety, dangerous car, etc). It's a shame then that there is only so much that the actors can do with the material. The script is content enough to assign each character a particular, interesting trait, and only so much is done to make each character really rounded. Some of this really does click, like Dwayne's breakdown on the side of the road, or the final performance from Olive contrasted with the rest of the beauty pageant. Good points are made, but there's always a certain sense of un-reality working too. It's hard to explain, and it will definitely be a subjective call for anyone checking it out. It might reach some more, like as if it's this year's American Beauty. For me, Little Miss Sunshine is a welcome addition for this month's crop of movies, and as a family drama it has some memorable scenes.