Like A Ray of Sunlight

Rating: Null/10 (24 June 2008)

'Little Miss Sunshine' tells a fascinating and hilarious story of a dysfunctional family that includes a cigarette-addicted mother Sheryl (Toni Collette), her suicidal brother Frank (Steve Carell), her voluntarily mute son Dwayne (Paul Dano), her obsessed-with-winning husband Richard(Greg Kinnear), his eccentric father Edwin (Alan Arkin) and her 7 year old daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin). I usually enjoy movies and shows about dysfunctional families, perhaps because my family's that way and it is this dysfunctional quality that makes them more fun for me. Directors Dayton and Faris do a good job as they stick to the main story. 'Little Miss Sunshine' can also be watched as a fun road movie where we are presented with some beautiful landscapes and some of the dialogues during the characters' journey are of laugh out loud quality and yet it keeps the authenticity of the relationships and situations intact.
The film consists of a delightful ensemble cast. Toni Collette, as the mother and wife who tries to keep the family together is amazing. Alan Arkin is brilliant as the father who doesn't give a damn. Greg Kinnear too is superb as the judgemental moron and he's great in displaying his character's vulnerability. Steve Carell is excellent, especially in showing Frank's transformation and his dialogue delivery is impeccable. Paul Dano holds his own. And, Abigail Breslin is the surprise package. This little girl is breathtaking. The scene where she has the last conversation with her grandfather and breaks down because of her fear of losing the pageant was very moving and of course there's the climax shot.
About this particular shot, many have labelled it as child pornography and this is an ignorant statement. That scene was not meant to be pornographic in any way. It was supposed to be hilarious and it got me rolling on the floor laughing (not literally but you get the idea). The importance of that scene was that it was a punch in the stomach to the parents and all those associated with the children's beauty pageant. We are shown little girl's (as young as ages 3) with heavy makeup, wearing these revealing outfits, doing these provocative moves on stage (this was one horrifying sequence)...all in the name of talent, self esteem and whatever. Olive's act stresses on the hypocrisy of this ridicule and the young actress does a fine job.
On the technical front, the cinematography is good and the soundtrack is brilliant. But, it is the characters and their relationship that makes 'Little Miss Sunshine' a treat. It starts off on a gloomy note where all the characters, except Olive, are more or less depressed but as the film proceeds the layers unfold and as the story is told. Not a single moment is wasted on irrelevant trivia. By the end, the experience is very positive, like a ray of sunlight entering the lives of these characters.