Little Miss Sunshine, Best Picture?

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2007)

I was very surprised that "Little Miss Sunshine" was able to garner as many nominations as it did for the Acadamey Awards. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film very much, but, I'm shocked--that's all.
It's the story of Olive (Abigail Breslin), the ten-year-old pageant obsessed 2nd runner up to a Little Miss Sunshine title, who gets her big shot to compete in the National Pageant when the original winner has some sort of "diet pill complications." So she jumps in the yellow VW van with dysfunctional family in tow for a trek from Albequerque, New Mexico to Redando Beach, CA to take a shot at the crown. The trip proves to be as dysfunctional as the family, which includes her mother--trying to keep everyone together (Toni Collete), her positive thinking unemployed self help guru father (Greg Kinnear), her gay suicidal Uncle Frank (Steve Carell), her Nitzche studying vow of silence taking brother, who has dreams of being a military pilot (Paul Dano), and her brash, heroine snorting, old coot of a grandfather (Alan Arkin).
Along the way, the family is forced to endure car trouble, former exes, mental meltdowns, job opportunities that go nowhere, and death. All the while, Olive's dream becomes their own and keeps them going to a finish that, while no one could probably predict it, isn't too far fetched to the average moviegoer.
I have to say, it was a "cute" little movie. I by no means wouldn't recommend it, but, Oscar worthy? I don't know. It makes me wonder if it was strategically placed to give competition to pre-Oscar hopefuls. Breslin, who, as far as child actors go, is very charming, may give Jennifer Hudson's Effie White ("Dreamgirls") a vote split--pushing through a dramatic performance upset in the Best Supporting Actress category (Hudson's award fell under Musical/Comedy at the Golden Globes). The same could be said for Arkin in the Best Supporting Actor category against Eddie Murphy ("Dreamgirls"), although, I think Arkin does a superior job, having seen both films. I also find it very telling that "LMS" got the Best Picture nomination over "Dreamgirls." Though many might question "Dreamgirls" ever getting nominated for the award in the first place, it certainly had the hype on its side. Maybe its a sign of the hype running out of steam, giving Breslin and Arkin a slight advantage to set "Dreamgirls" as a whole up for a snub.
Who knows? But, its a cute little indie film that might end up being the little engine that could.