The best comedy of 2006!

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2007)

When telling a friend to go see Little Miss Sunshine, it is really hard to convince them to see it simply because of the plot, because it is kind of contrived and has that done-before feeling. What makes the movie is it's wonderfully flawed, colorful characters, and the tremendous writing, and the ability to keep humor in a potentially tragic moment.
In the first five minutes of the movie, we meet all of the characters. We first meet Olive (adorable little Abigail Breslin) glaring at the audience. We soon find out that she's watching old beauty pageant videos, and practicing her reaction to when she finally wins the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Next, we meet her father, Richard, played by Greg Kinnear, who's done some of his best work in 2006. His character, Richard is an inspirational speaker, whose "Nine Steps To Success" have brought him very little success. Then we meet Olive's teenage brother Dwayne, played by Paul Dano, whose performance might be the best one in the movie. His character reminds me of myself in my teenage years, and the way he plays it is just to die for. Dwayne hasn't spoken a word in nine months because he's taken a vow of silence until he becomes a test pilot in the Air Force Academy.
Then we meet the grandpa, played by Alan Arkin. In his first scene, he is showed snorting heroin, and we soon find out that he got kicked out of his retirement home for his outrageous behavior. Arkin is very, very funny in this movie, and his performance is not to be missed. And then we meet Sheryl, played by Toni Collette. She is terrific in the part, although there isn't enough of her in the movie. She plays Olive and Dwayne's frazzled mom who is just trying to do the best for her children. That's pretty much all there is to her character. And last we meet Sheryl's gay suicidal brother Frank, who tried to off himself after being dumped by his lover.
In a nearly 20-minute scene at a dinner table where the family eats fast-food fried chicken, we learn everything about the Hoover family dynamic. And then we listen to a message from Sheryl's sister, telling Olive that there's a place for her in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant, and after some initial hesitation...road trip!
I really can't tell you about all of the priceless comedy that goes down on the way from Albuquerque to Redondo Beach, because I couldn't possibly ruin the wonderful and twisted laughs in this movie. In conclusion, it's the funniest movie I've seen in years, and possibly the funniest movie I'll see in a long time. So, you shouldn't make the mistake to rent this wonderful piece of cinema, you should go buy this movie right away.