"Oh my God, I'm getting pulled over. Everyone, just... pretend to be normal."
Wow! I just saw the funniest movie..."Little Miss Sunshine". I sat in a theater packed with college students: every seat was filled and almost all the floor space as well and we were all moved to tears by this film...no it's not cheesy or overly sad and tragic, we were just laughing so hard the tears ran down our cheeks.
The plot revolves around a family of odd characters. The dad, Richard (Kinnear) is a motivational speaker aspiring to write a book with his nine-step program which teaches losers how to be winners. He relates everything to the struggle between winning and losing. His wife Sheryl (Collette) tries to keep the family together, and balance family time with a career (although we never learn what she does for a living...if she even has a job). His father Edwin (referred to as Grandpa, played by Alan Arkin) is a crotchety old man who wants to experience everything: he swears like a sailor, talks frequently about porn and sex, and uses various drugs (when we are introduced to him, he is snorting cocaine). Sheryl's suicidal, homosexual brother, Frank (Carell) has just moved in with the family, and is trying to find his place...and some personal space. The couple has two children. Their teenage son Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence, training day and night to become a pilot in the military. He is pretty miserable, and generally hates his family (and everyone else generically), but he is one of my personal favorite characters. His sister is the star of the film, Olive (Breslin). Olive is 7 years old and by default the winner of a local beauty pageant. She has to travel to California in a few days to participate in the Miss Sunshine Pageant. The family takes a road trip from their home in Albuquerque to Redondo Beach in California, it's about 700 miles.
It's a film about finding yourself...and reaching for your dreams. While that may sound cheesy, the film is low on the cheese levels. Each of the characters is well defined and has a moment of personal change and potentially growth. Beyond just a film about family growing closer, this film keeps you guessing...although they do setup most of the "shockers".
Along the way the clutch on their van breaks...so instead of taking the time to fix it ("It's the weekend") they opt for a more comical approach. They are able to get into 3rd and 4th gear, but the car has to get a rolling start to get to that point. So they need to park on a hill and get natural momentum, OR the whole family needs to get out and push, and then take a running leap into the van. Although this appears several times in the film, it doesn't get old!
Dude, it's quotable!: ok, some of the dialogue should not be repeated in the presence of young children (or your parents...or senior citizens), but overall this is film is a riot
Buy it without seeing it: this is at the top of my wish-list...don't waste your money through continually renting it, just suck it up and buy the film!!
The plot revolves around a family of odd characters. The dad, Richard (Kinnear) is a motivational speaker aspiring to write a book with his nine-step program which teaches losers how to be winners. He relates everything to the struggle between winning and losing. His wife Sheryl (Collette) tries to keep the family together, and balance family time with a career (although we never learn what she does for a living...if she even has a job). His father Edwin (referred to as Grandpa, played by Alan Arkin) is a crotchety old man who wants to experience everything: he swears like a sailor, talks frequently about porn and sex, and uses various drugs (when we are introduced to him, he is snorting cocaine). Sheryl's suicidal, homosexual brother, Frank (Carell) has just moved in with the family, and is trying to find his place...and some personal space. The couple has two children. Their teenage son Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence, training day and night to become a pilot in the military. He is pretty miserable, and generally hates his family (and everyone else generically), but he is one of my personal favorite characters. His sister is the star of the film, Olive (Breslin). Olive is 7 years old and by default the winner of a local beauty pageant. She has to travel to California in a few days to participate in the Miss Sunshine Pageant. The family takes a road trip from their home in Albuquerque to Redondo Beach in California, it's about 700 miles.
It's a film about finding yourself...and reaching for your dreams. While that may sound cheesy, the film is low on the cheese levels. Each of the characters is well defined and has a moment of personal change and potentially growth. Beyond just a film about family growing closer, this film keeps you guessing...although they do setup most of the "shockers".
Along the way the clutch on their van breaks...so instead of taking the time to fix it ("It's the weekend") they opt for a more comical approach. They are able to get into 3rd and 4th gear, but the car has to get a rolling start to get to that point. So they need to park on a hill and get natural momentum, OR the whole family needs to get out and push, and then take a running leap into the van. Although this appears several times in the film, it doesn't get old!
Dude, it's quotable!: ok, some of the dialogue should not be repeated in the presence of young children (or your parents...or senior citizens), but overall this is film is a riot
Buy it without seeing it: this is at the top of my wish-list...don't waste your money through continually renting it, just suck it up and buy the film!!
Director: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Starring:
Abigail Breslin as Olive
Greg Kinnear as Richard
Toni Collette as Sheryl
Steve Carell as Frank
