Absolutely brilliant...

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2011)

I first saw this film when it was shown on TV with my mother. It was one of the best films that I have ever watched. There is hardly anything wrong with this film. The direction, the writing, everything is just brilliant. The acting of the whole family are brilliant as they all bring their characters to life. Alan Arkin is hilarious as Edwin, the foul-mouthed grandfather who has been kicked out of his old retirement home for drug use, as is Greg Kinnear as Richard, the pompous motivational speaker father, who shows an amazing emotional turn when something horrible happens to the family. However, it is Paul Dano that ultimately steals the show with his role of Dwayne, a troubled teenager who has taken a vow of silence until he can accomplish his dream of becoming a test pilot. Throughout the film he bottles up his emotions, until he finds something out about himself, and his emotions just come falling out, with a nice moment between Dwayne and his pageant-queen sister, Olive played by Abigail Breslin. It is Dano who utters one of the best lines in the film.
Look for this film and watch it, you will not regret it.