Little Miss Sunshine
2006. Written by Michael Arndt. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano, and Abigail Breslin.
You realize how great the dysfunction in this family is when you begin wondering if the 15 year old who stopped talking nine months ago and hates everything might be the most stable member of the family. The family, including grandpa who got kicked out of his assisted living home because of drug use and Uncle Frank who can't be left alone because he just attempted suicide, begin a cross country road trip to enter the little girl in a beauty pageant. Not too much goes right including a vehicle that is literally falling apart. I watched this movie in two parts, the first hour one day and the last forty minutes tonight. The first hour is very funny as it celebrates the dysfunction of this family. I was quite disappointed with the second half, however. The movie gets more serious and the characters start making better choices and the comedy certainly suffers as a result while the drama isn't strong enough to balance out the decrease in humor. I laughed quite a bit in the first hour but found the remainder fairly unrewarding. Little Miss Sunshine is worth watching but after seeing the complete film, I'm shocked at its inclusion as a Best Picture Oscar nominee. This may be a weak year for film, especially compared to the brilliance of 2005, but this is certainly not among the five best of the year.
My grade: B
You realize how great the dysfunction in this family is when you begin wondering if the 15 year old who stopped talking nine months ago and hates everything might be the most stable member of the family. The family, including grandpa who got kicked out of his assisted living home because of drug use and Uncle Frank who can't be left alone because he just attempted suicide, begin a cross country road trip to enter the little girl in a beauty pageant. Not too much goes right including a vehicle that is literally falling apart. I watched this movie in two parts, the first hour one day and the last forty minutes tonight. The first hour is very funny as it celebrates the dysfunction of this family. I was quite disappointed with the second half, however. The movie gets more serious and the characters start making better choices and the comedy certainly suffers as a result while the drama isn't strong enough to balance out the decrease in humor. I laughed quite a bit in the first hour but found the remainder fairly unrewarding. Little Miss Sunshine is worth watching but after seeing the complete film, I'm shocked at its inclusion as a Best Picture Oscar nominee. This may be a weak year for film, especially compared to the brilliance of 2005, but this is certainly not among the five best of the year.
My grade: B
posted by Keith Allison at 12:38 AM
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