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Movie Review: Little Miss Sunshine
Imagine you’re on a bus traveling halfway across the country to your destination. A destination that, in your mind will mark you a “winner” or a “loser” in life. It’s your life’s ambition waiting there, so you go. On the bus are the people your mother warned you about, types you normally wouldn’t associate with in life: An aged heroin sniffer with a porn collection; a self-imposed mute teenager who worships Nietzsche and communicates by notepad how much he hates everyone; a newly released psychiatric patient with gauzy bandages on his wrists from his latest attempt; and a Tony Robbins wannabe behind the wheel. The good news is your mom is with you, supporting you every step of the way. The bad news is, she’s related to everyone on the bus. And.so.are.you.
Little Miss Sunshine is the much anticipated darling of the Sundance Film Festival bringing its own ray of entertainment to a long, lackluster list of summer releases.
Meet the Hoovers (see above). They are as fragmented and dysfunctional as they are charming in their efforts to better themselves and break out of their mundane lives. When 7-year-old Olive gets a phone message that she has been bumped up the roster at a regional beauty contest in California, the Hoover clan reluctantly support her in her tiara-wearing dream by roadtripping it from Albuquerque to Redondo Beach in their banana-yellow VW bus. Escalating troubles along the route test their resolve, change their perspectives and bond them together.
Co-directed by husband and wife duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris—known for their ability to encapsulate big ideas in tiny visuals in their commercial work—and penned by Michael Arndt, the story fulfills the true indie original concept: Simple goal, pursued by quirky people with major personal risks at stake.
Ahhh. . . it feels familiar. . . like an indie summer release from the 90s.
A sure sign an indie is potent above the line is the actor star power it attracts. Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, and Greg Kinnear give performances that expound upon their obvious talents. Abigail Breslin--as the little girl who wants to trade in her soda-bottle-bottom glasses for a crown and a sash—and teen angst personified Paul Dano--who we’ll see next in Linklater’s Fast Food Nation--play their roles not as precocious, but as believable and recognizable kids.
Like the unmistakable smell of Coppertone suntan lotion, this movie is a pleasant reminder of summers past, escaping the heat, watching a relatable story with loveable characters and driving home with a smile on your face.
Official “Little Miss Sunshine” website is here.
