Plot: A family determined to get their daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country road trip in a VW bus.
Review: This is one my favorite movies. It's just an awesome movie to watch and I'll tell you why.
Firstly, what I like about the film's plot is that it feels real. This is a movie about a family and how dysfunctional they are. It doesn't feel entirely over the top. We have a father trying to succeed in his business proposal, a somewhat rebellious teenage boy who doesn't want to have anything to do with the family, a hilarious, cursing grandfather, a mother trying to keep everything together, a suicidal, gay uncle and a little girl who just wants to win a beauty pageant. When the plot and the characters are described, you would think that it's melodramatic. But it really isn't.
The acting is incredible. There's no weak link at all in the main cast, consisting of the family. Greg Kinnear plays the father Richard and he is awesome in his role. We see Richard's determination that everything go perfectly, whether it's his business or family, he just wants everything to go smoothly. And when it doesn't, everything cracks and he tries to make everything right.
Toni Collette plays Sheryl, the mother. I love Toni Collette and I think this is one of her better film roles that I've seen her in so far. She's determined to keep everything together and is also more rational that most of her family members. I'm always impressed that Toni Collette, who is an Australian, is able to do an American accent so well.
Paul Dano plays Dwayne, Sheryl's teenage son from a previous relationship. Dwayne doesn't speak for a great portion of the film. Paul's facial expressions and gestures when his character doesn't speak is fantastic. It takes a great actor to be able to show us what the character is saying without actually saying anything.
Steve Carell plays Frank, Sheryl's brother who attempted suicide. What I like about Carell's portrayal is that we see the evolution of his character as he tries to cope with the mess that his life has become. You would think that this kind of character doesn't bring laughs, but he does and Carell plays it very well.
Alan Arkin is Edwin, the drug-abusing, cursing grandfather that teaches Olive the dance moves for the pageant. Alan Arkin is absolutely hilarious and very touching in this role. He plays the grumpy old man with a balance of sweetness and tenderness very well. It's no wonder he won an Oscar for this role.
Finally, Abigail Breslin plays Olive and she is simply amazing in this. Her ability to portray Olive's innocence, determination, sadness and naive ways is just fantastic to watch. Abigail Breslin received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress when she was only 10 years old. That speaks volumes.
The film is well-cast and there's no weak link. I'd even go as far to say that Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carrell should've been nominated at the Oscars for their performances.
The writing is phenomenal. What I like about Michael Arndt's writing is that he's able to make every single character relatable to the audience and we're also able to feel sympathy for every character at some point during the film. His script also brings dark comedy in a dark situation like death and I admire that. Michael Ardnt won an Oscar for his script for a reason.
The film is a black comedy so there's good laughs for the audience, but we also have those sad, dark moments in which the audience can relate. The audience can relate in the comedic and dramatic of this film.
Little Miss Sunshine is a brilliant film and one of that will probably be one of my favorites for a long time to come.
Rating: 5/5
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