One of the Best Comedies of the Decade

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2006)

Who would have thought that a first time screenwriter (Michael Arndt) and first time directors (husband and wife Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris) would create that comedy? Definitely not me or anyone else who saw Little Miss Sunshine, it surprised the heck out of me and is easily my personal favorite movie from this year.
It tells the story of the dysfunctional Hoover family and their VW road trip to get their dopey yet adorable seven year old daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) to compete in the Californian Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. What makes it so special? For one, the characters, while somewhat stereotypical, are acted and written to perfection. There is the cranky crude Grandpa (Alan Arkin) battling a heroin addiction. There is the miserable angst-ridden teen Dwayne (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence and prefers to write his statements in a notepad when forced to communicate with others. There is the hard working Mother (Toni Collete), trying her hardest to take care of her family and not have a mental breakdown herself. Her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a wannabe self help guru whose constant words of "encouragement" only manage to alienate himself from his children. Much discussion has been had over the casting of comedian Steve Carrell as the Uncle Frank, a Proust scholar who is taken in by the Hoover's after attempting suicide. Like every other actor in the film he is perfectly cast delivering all the necessary moments of comedy while still bringing to life a flawed, interesting, and likable character. Finally there is Olive, whose only flaw is that she has the unattainable dream of becoming a beauty queen. It is also worth noting that the she delivers the funniest line in the entire screenplay. I won't give it away, but when you hear it you will know what I am talking about.
The story and characters give the movie an ample amount of comedic potential and it is all fully utilized. Everything from the family banter to the deadpan look one character gives another to the major set pieces deliver big laughs. The comedy is intelligent and dark yet at the same time accessible enough for a wide audience. Heck, if it was not for the language it would be the perfect movie to take the kids too. It is all about sticking to and looking out for your family no matter what while professing the always popular moral of "true beauty lies on the inside". A handful of moments are surprisingly emotional, so much so that if your eyes get misty you won't know if it is from laughing to much or simply viewing genuinely moving cinema. The word gets tossed around a lot these days but no film I have seen is more worthy of the being placed in the sub-genre that is "dramady". This summer movie season was one of the worst in recent memory; filled with movies that I thought were either not all that great or left me very disappointed. I am very thankful this incredibly wonderful gem was discovered by me mid-august. I really cannot praise Little Miss Sunshine enough. See it on DVD you guys and place it amongst your favorite comedies, I know it is one of mine.