Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Steve Carell is on a hot streak. I just hope he doesn't get too big for network television.
( Is there a better character on network t.v. today than Michael Scott? ) Put that excellent role from NBC's "The Office" together with "The 40 Year Old Virgin," and now "Little Miss Sunshine," and you wonder where Carell can go from here... well hopefully a good 5 or 6 more seasons of "The Office."

Unlike "The 40 Year Old Virgin," however, Carell is not the main character in "Little Miss Sunshine," but instead shares the billing with a wonderful ensemble cast of actors who are his comedic equals in this delightful film. The story centers around a tried and true comedy format, the family road trip. In "Little Miss Sunshine," the family is driving from Albuquerque to California so their eight year old daughter, Olive, can compete in the "Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant." And what a family it is! Along on this journey to get Olive to the pageant is the father, Richard, an inspirational speaker seeking a book deal on his '9 steps to success,' the vulgar, sex-crazed, heroin-snorting Grandpa, the teenage brother who, inspired by writings of philosopher Nietzsche, has taken a vow of silence and hasn't spoken in months, the suicidal Proust-scholar, Uncle Frank, and the rock of the family, Olive's mother Sheryl, who is attempting to hold them all together. In lesser hands on all fronts, from the screenwriters to the directors and actors, this plot setup could have easily slid into cliched physical gags and sophomoric lampooning of these eccentric characters. The script does not fall into that trap, however, and the actors are allowed to infuse their characters with a realism so that even though each has their own strong eccentricities, they are not defined by that, but are rather fully developed and realized human beings. I've heard that acting in comedies is much harder than in dramas, however, I believe the hardest type of acting would probably be what is on display in this movie: acting in a comedy, making it funny, yet always maintaining the comedy with a perfect balance of realism. Greg Kinnear, as Richard, Alan Arkin as Grandpa, Steve Carell as Uncle Frank, Toni Collete as Sheryl, and even the children, Paul Dano as Dwayne, and the wonderful Abigail Breslin as Olive, all create fully developed, odd-ball characters who we as viewers believe in and care about... and are who are absolutely hilarious. A combination that is not found too often in movies.

The movie is itself one of the funnier views I've had in a long time. The movie has, for the most part an indie, non-Hollywood feel to it, and the humor clearly works with that style, it being often more subtle and observational, though there are also plenty of physical gags, they push the boundaries but are never taken overboard. Many parts become even more funny after its over and you've had time to reflect on it and talk about it with those who have also seen it. Much of the humor is based in reality, these are real people, and this is a real family. You feel that connection with them and can relate to their life. Take for instance the opening dinner scene, when Sheryl is preparing for a family dinner that consists a bucket of chicken, and a bowl of cole-slaw, that she brought home from the local fried chicken place. She is quickly running around the kitchen repeatedly calling her family in for dinner as she prepares the table with paper plates and mixmatch cups and glasses, including a "McBurglar" glass. Simple, touching, real, and very funny. Some comedies stick straight to the punchline, but the reason "Little Miss Sunshine" works so well is because it does a fine job of balancing other emotions perfectly along with the humor. There are a number of scenes that would make you cry from sadness if you were not laughing so hard from humor. The other emotions always feel as real as the comedy, and never feel tacked on and fake as is often the case many other comedies.

I know I'm gushing about this movie, but frankly I loved it and I think you will too. Maybe I'm basking in the afterglow of this wonderful little movie and in time I will think that I've gone overboard with my praise, but for now I stand by my review. It is a great movie. Go see it.

5 out of 5 stars.

Olive: Grandpa, do you think I'm pretty?
Grandpa: Olive, you are the most beautiful girl in the whole world!
Olive: Nah you're just saying that...
Grandpa: No! I'm not kidding. I'm madly in love with you, and it's not because of your brains or your personality.