Little Miss Sunshine----****
Olive (Breslin) is a young girl who dreams of winning a beauty pageant. Her parents Richard (Kinnear) and Sheryl (Collette) decide to drive Olive to California so she can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. However, Richard's father (Alan Arkin), their son Dwayne (Paul Dano), and Sheryl's brother Frank (Steve Carell) also come along for the ride, and it's not long before everything starts to go wrong for the traveling family.
Charming, funny, and always involving, Little Miss Sunshine is a film with something for everyone. A fine script by Michael Arndt is bolstered by a number of excellent performances, and the direction remains focused at all times.
Young Breslin is simply a revelation as Olive. Her range is extraordinary, and she really makes the role her own. Kinnear and Collette are both ideal as her parents, and Dano, rather ordinary in The King, makes up for that with a fine performance here. Arkin is an absolute delight as Richard's foul-mouthed father. This sort of character is tricky to pull off, principally because there's no guarantee the audience will like them, but Arkin allows us to see that there's a good heart behind the gruff exterior. Carell gives a very fine performance too, particularly when you consider this is rather new turf for him.
There are a number of things that make Little Miss Sunshine work so well. The most important reason is that the family comes across as real. This is partly due to the performances, but also because of the writing. Each character has strengths and flaws, and every single one of them has to come to terms with these as the film progresses. The dialogue between the family members is extraordinarily realistic, the characters are properly fleshed out, and the cast have a wonderful chemistry together.
The other main reason why the film is such a delight is because it accomplishes so many things. Little Miss Sunshine is essentially a black comedy, but it's often rather touching, poignant, and moving as well. The way these elements combine is excellent, with the more emotional moments never permitted to become overly saccharine or trite. The film even manages to include some decent satire as well, and the way it moves between these elements ensures that it's never predictable.
Credit is also due to Dayton and Faris, whose direction is so well suited you'd think they wrote the screenplay. They never allow the comedic moments to become silly (even though a couple of them have the potential to do so), and they don't force the audience to wallow in pity every time something bad happens to the family. They display a respect and an understanding of the writing that isn't always seen from directors.
I am genuinely at a loss to think of films similar to Little Miss Sunshine. Very few films have so adeptly woven extremely black comedy and such a charming story together. Perhaps the most recent example would be As Good as It Gets, but even that doesn't offer comedy as deliciously wicked as what Little Miss Sunshine has on display. When awards season rolls around Little Miss Sunshine may well find itself ignored, but some of the performances in particular are deserving of accolades.
