You don't get better suffering than this

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2008)

Melodramatic comedy has developed a new subgenre - the dysfunctional family film. Sure, there have been precursors to The Royal Tannenbaums, the Turnblads of Hairspray, The Addams Family and the Hoovers of Little Miss Sunshine, but with the advent of the euphemism "independant film" film-makers can now at least pretend to deal more openly, intelligently and humorously with taboo subjects that you'll never see on The Brady Bunch. Even if it now seems necessary to make a film with an 8 million dollar budget appear to be independent.
Little Miss Sunshine is a really nice little film. It follows the misadventures of a family on the brink of bankruptcy, divorce, suicide, death and general angst as they journey from Albuquerque to Redondo Beach to enter their little girl, Olive (Abigail Breslin) into a beauty contest. There are several very funny moments, but the film reaches deeper levels than most comedies and thankfully avoids insulting its audience's intelligence like most contemporary comedies do.
The script is exceptionally good. The directing and editing are fine and the cinematography is excellent.
The ensemble cast is terrific and each character is very carefully written. Although the characters are very consistent they are anything but shallow and one-dimensional. You will probably feel as if you've met them - and this feeling is one of the keys to enjoying this film.
About 28 years ago, a friend of mine said to me that "everybody's problems are the biggest problems in the world to them." Taken in its proper context, this simple truth has helped me understand the structure of personal tragedy - which is the philosophical core of this film - nicely summarized by Steve Carrell's character in his discussion of Marcel Proust near the end of the film. And I don't just mean that what does not kill you makes you stronger. This film packs a better, simpler, and more profound message than this cliché can express.
Recommended - especially for people who sometimes forget to enjoy their lives.