| |
|
Little Miss Sunshine is a charming new movie that is cynical, funny, and
a refreshing change from the typical stupid joke plots found in modern
comedies.
The story of a dysfunctional family road trip is the first step for the
audience to relate to the movie so many of us are familiar with the scenario
of the oddball-relatives, the ones you're stuck with forever because they're
your family, but you love them despite, or because of this, anyway. In this
case, the dad (Greg Kinnear) is a self-help lecturer on how to be a winner,
and is, of course, the ultimate loser. The mom (Toni Collette) is stressed
but really the most normal of them all, and her brother (Steve Carell), is
the gay, formerly top scholar in America just out of the hospital for suicide
attempt. The Grandpa (Allen Arken) is an eccentric druggie, and the teenage
brother/son (Paul Dano), a devout Nietzsche follower, is not speaking. Then
there is Olive (Abigail Breslin), the cute little beauty pageant
contestant with eccentricities of her own. The family sets off in a
half-working yellow VW bus to California, for Olive's Little Miss Sunshine
pageant, with everything imaginable happening to them on the way, be it your
everyday miracle or a family tragedy.
Altogether, I found it not a straight out comedy; it definitely made me
laugh, but it deals with stuff that isn't so funny when it shows up in your
life say for example broken dreams, low down living and death. But while some
might find that depressing, it is the elements of reality that make the movie
valuable--so many things might be going wrong, but it is still possible to
laugh because what else can you do? The family might be crazy, but they are
also you and me. It is undeniably heartwarming, but not overly sappy, or in
any way a cliche. The ending is the best ever and the funniest part in the whole
film. This movie shouts out fresh originality, and it is definitely worth
seeing.
|
|
