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Little Miss Sunshine

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Synopsis

The Hoover family treks from Albuquerque to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, to fulfill the deepest wish of 7-year-old Olive, an ordinary little girl with big dreams. Steve Carell plays a gay Proustian scholar, Alan Arkin a heroin-addicted senior, Greg Kinnear a deluded motivational speaker and Toni Collette the mom who tries to keep up with it all. Along the way the family must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreaks, and a broken-down VW bus, leading up to the surreal Little Miss Sunshine competition itself. On their travels through this bizarre landscape, the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other along the path of life, no matter what the challenge.

Review

Nothing more than Meet the Fockers for elitists (or maybe Flirting with Disaster for dummies), Little Miss Sunshine is the latest overhyped, overpraised letdown to emerge from Sundance – must be the high altitude. Like a first draft of a Screenplays 101 course, there are too many one-note characters, coincidental plot twists and contrived situations to overlook, squandering some splendid performances and at least a few good laughs in the process.

When their cute but pudgy daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) miraculously qualifies at the last minute for the big Little Miss Sunshine beauty contest, her parents (Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette) decide to throw their whole dysfunctional family into a ramshackle VW van for a harried road trip to California. Nevermind that flying the mom & the kid alone would really be cheaper, or that the suicidal gay Proustian scholar (Steve Carell) could easily stay home with the non-speaking vow-of-silence son (Paul Dano), or that heroin-snorting foul-mouthed Grandpa (Alan Arkin) would keep the raunchy nature of the kid's routine a secret, or that none of the ridiculous bunch would have no idea what beauty pageants are really like. No, it's a comedy, so these somewhat pathetic characters are forced together so that each can have their one joke, one punchline, and one moment of half-hearted character growth before the big setpiece at the end. Yawn.

This is filmmaking at its most cynical: Creating smug characters and letting them wallow in their delusions, to the delight of even smugger audiences. It's more winceworthy than funny, despite an energetic turn by Arkin (unfortunately cut off National Lampoon's Vacation-style) and a naturally precocious performance by young Miss Breslin. That this was marketed as an "indie film" is perhaps the biggest shame of all. Prepare to be disappointed.

-- David Gorgos

Keywords

Comedy, Family Troubles, Road Movie, Suicide

Genres

Art House/Indie, Comedy, Fox, Gay/Lesbian

Customer Reviews

Road Trip

Amos Lassen wrote on 02/20/2011:

“Little Miss Sunshine”
Road Trip
Amos Lassen
I love road trip movies and that is just what “Little Miss Sunshine” is. It is a great trip with a lot happening along the way. An unforgettable group of characters is off to watch the crowning of the new Little Miss Sunshine.
Here is a family unlike any family you have seen before. The Hoovers are loveable and dysfunctional and they thrown together to make this road trip at which time they are forced to deal with each other along with a series of setbacks and catastrophes.
The head of the group is Richard Hoover played by Greg Kinnear. He is a motivational speaker whose entire career rests upon the success of a book he has written, speaking engagements and workshops based upon his nine step program. It is not enough that his family is not solid but he deals with career stress as well. He is married to Sheryl (Toni Collette) who struggles to keep the family together while not receiving any help to do so. Richard’s father (Alan Arkin) has been kicked out of a nursing home because of drug use and obscenity and he spends most of his time with Olive (Abigail Breslin), seven years old, who is practicing her dance routine for the upcoming beauty pageant. More chaos ensues when Sheryl brings her gay brother (Stephen Carrell) to live with them after he survived an unsuccessful suicide attempt. He is to share a room with his nephew Dwayne (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence and dreams of escaping his family by joining the marines.
Richard feels that the world should be divided into the winners and the losers and he talks to his family about success and failure all of the time. As he waits to hear the news of a possible contract for his work, a call comes to bring Olive to the West Coast for the Little Miss Sunshine Finals. Feeling fragile, he volunteers to drive the family to Renondo Beach and they set off for a three day journey in an old Volkswagen van. On the way there is clutch trouble and this is the catalyst that allows the family now to learn top deal with each other. Some how they manage to achieve a semblance of solidarity.
The cast is perfect and the spirit of rebellion and a smart script make this a wonderful movie. There is a great deal of humanity and heart in the film. It shows that the concept of family is not a perfect machine and it is made up of components that do not necessarily fit and are prone to malfunction. The comic tone is deftly channeled by a cast that knows how to perform. I was amazed by Greg Kinnear’s performance and Toni Collette’s understated performance is a heart stealer. It is a delightful film that shows how families work (or don’t work) and is not your usual movie theater fare.
I love it for its obvious differences.

Showgirls

movie-goer wrote on 12/12/2007:

once again.. NEVER take TLA's review seriously. Another silly review from TLA!! It cracks me up when I was reading it. The only show that wouldn't disappoint the reviewer is probably "Showgirl"!!

Proof that...

kissingclyde wrote on 01/15/2007:

...most reviewers wouldn't recognize genuine heart and quality in a film if it jumped out of the screen.

Don't go by the TLA review. This movie is subtle, powerful, beautifully shot, funny, tragic, brilliantly acted, and authentic. I felt better about my life walking out of this. And the soundtrack is phenomenal!

Roll On The Floor Funny

WOOF wrote on 01/03/2007:

I have not laughed so hard at a movie in years. Really funny. The TLA reviewer must have forgotten to take his meds. Obviously, this movie is not meant to be "In Search of Lost Time." Sit back and enjoy it.

Funny and Totally Worth It!

MusicIsEverything wrote on 11/24/2006:

I saw this movie in the theater and laughed until my stomach hurt. The audience response was overwhelmingly positive. It doesn't even compute to me that TLA's reviewer would bash this film. I guess some people have no sense of humor. This film is edgy, intelligent, and hilarious. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a comedy this much.

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