Welcome to America's funniest family!

Rating: 9/10 (17 August 2006)

Little Miss Sunshine is a rarity among US comedies (Alexander Payne and Wes Anderson not included). Because of all the hype surrounding it (enthusiastic reviews at the Sundance festival), you expect something really good. For once (and that's the rare thing), the actual film might even exceed expectations. This is one of the funniest, most original movies I've seen in a long time.
The film gets it title from a beauty contest for five or six-year old girls. One of the participants is Olive Hoover (Abigail Preslin), the archetypal sweet little kid who just wants to fulfill her dreams. Unfortunately, she has to go to California (where the competition takes place) with her highly dysfunctional family: her father, Richard (Greg Kinnear), has invented a nine-step program to succeed in life, only no one listens to him (think Tom Cruise in Magnolia minus the charisma); brother Dwayne (Paul Dano) has recently discovered Nietzsche and made a silence vow, which will be broken once he gets to join the Air Force; uncle Frank (Steve Carell) is Proust-obsessed, gay and suicidal (and he's the most normal family member); Grandpa (the scene-stealing Alan Arkin) is infatuated with the F-word ("Again with the f**cking chicken!") and has been thrown out of a retirement home for snorting heroin; and finally, mother Sheryl (Toni Collette), who has to take care of all these people. Thought the Simpsons were a weird family? Not anymore...
The film's charm lies in its straightforwardness: first-time directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris bring Michael Arndt's superb screenplay to life without any hidden messages or subtexts. They don't judge their protagonists, but use them to make us understand what doesn't work in America (okay, so there is a small subtext after all). During the last half hour, Little Miss Sunshine is a poignant critique against US show business, particularly its need to exploit children for ratings' sake. The Hoovers are a perfect tool to cruelly hit that target, thanks to an amazing ensemble: Kinnear and Collette are on top form (the last time the former was so funny was in 1997's As Good as It Gets), while Arkin and Carell (playing a more "mature" character after the likes of Bruce Almighty and The 40-Year Old Virgin) provide most of the movie's best moments (the scene where Frank exposes his quirky situation to the rest of the family is priceless).
Those looking for good laughs just have to see Little Miss Sunshine. I can't recall ever laughing so much while watching a recent comedy, and that's really saying something.