Vol. 4, No. 3, March 2007
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DVD Review
Little Miss Sunshine Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin. Directed by Jonathan Dayton
The great American road movie gets a new twist in the satire Little Miss Sunshine. This small-scale independent gem was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but had a very slim chance of winning. It’s like a guppie in a tank of sharks. The situation seems tailor-made for this plucky dark comedy, where being a winner is central to the plot.
We follow the misadventures of the Hoover family as they travel cross-country in a yellow VW bus so the youngest member, Olive, can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Played perfectly by Abigail Breslin, Olive is a geeky child in glasses with a Buddha-belly whose self-confidence and spirit are the only things that keep the family together. The Hoovers are the definition of dysfunction; Dad (Greg Kinnear) is a failed motivational speaker, Grandpa (Alan Arkin) is a dirty-minded old man who snorts heroine for fun, Olive’s brother (Paul Dano) hates everyone and has taken a vow of silence and her uncle is the number-one Proust scholar in the country and has recently tried to commit suicide. Hilariously under-played by Steve Carell, this is a character with genuine depth, a man who has truly hit bottom.
The path to the pageant takes several unexpected detours. Most of these are cleverly handled, though at times Little Miss Sunshine can fall into a TV sitcom wackiness that slightly weakens the picture. The strong ensemble cast makes up for this, though, and the audience is carried along for the ride. First-time director Jonathan Dayton creates some beautiful compositions. He is able to forge a distinct visual style from bleak terrain. There are moments in this movie when you don’t know whether to laugh or cringe. There are also moments that are surprisingly touching. Dayton takes the predictable and turns it on its head. Olive’s talent performance at the pageant is one of the funniest things you’ll see all year. By all means, get on the bus and see Little Miss Sunshine.
