Not for kids, but an excellent evolving movie for adults
Movie Reviewer, a storyteller, mother of 2, A Big Giant Sap
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NOV
30
2007
Little Miss Sunshine —
IntroI had missed seeing Little Miss Sunshine when it was out in the theaters, but once it was out on video, I was going to rent it on pay per view to watch it with the kids, but I couldn't figure out why it was rated R. I thought my 11-year-old daughter would really enjoy seeing this movie that was supposed to be about a young girl entering a beauty pageant. I decided to trust the rating and wait until I could watch it alone. Now that I've rented it from Blockbuster and watched it alone, I'm glad I didn't let my daughter watch it. Most of it would have probably gone over her head anyway, but it was the point of the matter. I would actually appreciate my 14-year-old son watching it because of the relationship drama. I don't think there's anything in Little Miss Sunshine that would enlighten him to the real world. I think he's probably privy to all the things they were discussing.
The Stars
Little Miss Sunshine was not short on great actors, with Greg Kinnear perhaps one of the most under-appreciated actors that can combine comedy and drama very well. Of course, his costar, Steve Carell, is no slouch in that department either, but while he gets plenty of credit for his comedic talents, he virtually gets none for his drama which is in fine form here, as well as his more recent turn in Dan in Real Life. They're joined by veteran actor Alan Arkin as well as star Abigail Breslin and the other costars Toni Collette and Paul Dano. Every one of them does such a fine job of acting, it very much makes the movie. Without this lineup, the movie wouldn't have been nearly as successful.
The Plot
Breslin appears as Olive, a little girl who dreams of making it in big time beauty pageants. She watches a video of Miss America being crowned religiously, dreaming of her big shot. She doesn't at first seem to notice that she has big glasses and a little bit of a belly on her. Her mother, Sheryl (Collette), hides her cigarette habit from her motivational speaker husband, Richard (Kinnear), whose big schtick is that winners are better than losers. Olive's 15-year-old brother, Dwayne (Dano), has taken a vow of silence for the past nine months, and plans to continue until he reaches his future career as an Air Force pilot. Grandpa (Arkin), Richard's father, lives in the house as well, and hides his daily heroin habit. The household grows by one when Sheryl's gay brother, Frank (Carell), a professor, is released into her care after his attempted suicide over losing his lover and his job. Right about now, you can probably see why it it's not necessarily suitable for kids.
Once Olive gets invited to be in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California, it's decided that they don't have the money for Olive and Sheryl to fly, and since she can't drive the stick shift minibus, Richard will drive. They do not want to leave Dwayne, Grandpa, and Frank alone, so it's decided everyone will go, and of course, this is where the fun really starts. Believing that Olive can hear nothing with her headphones on, Grandpa proceeds to tell Dwayne he should have sex (although he uses much more colorful words) with as many women as he can, and he should be starting already. Richard somewhat attacks his daughter's weight, explaining to her the dangers of eating fattening foods when she orders waffles a la mode. Their minibus breaks down at one point, and since the part for it won't be in for several days, it's decided that they'll just have to push start it all the time.
Those are, of course, the comedic parts, but the drama comes just as often. This family that starts off very dysfunctional, with none of them wanting to be with each other, somehow finds a way to coexist with each other. They all begin to understand each other a little more. While winning was everything to Richard, he softens his stance somewhat, seeing a little more gray area. While he was originally against Olive finding out that Frank's cuts on his arms were self-inflicted, he begins to sway a little towards the end of the film with his own ethics.
Conclusion
Little Miss Sunshine was a darkly warm comedic drama, if that makes sense at all. Despite their dysfunction, each member of the family was appealing in his own way. While it was obvious that we would all root for Olive in the film, we also began to root for the others, for the grandpa to be understood for just wanting to do his own thing, for Sheryl who wants nothing but her children's happiness, for Dwayne because he took a stance and stuck to it, for Richard that felt like a loser no matter how many times he preached about the values of winning, and for Frank who found himself at rock bottom and couldn't seem to climb out. They all learned about true winning by the end.
Last edited on Nov 30, 2007
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