Little Miss Sunshine

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin

Written by: Michael Arndt

Directed by: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Rated: R

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin Directed By: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Written By: Michael Arndt Fox Searchlight PicturesRated R

RV missed it by a mile. National Lampoon’s Vacation came close, but lacked the genuine emotion to carry it all the way. Much like Transamerica, Little Miss Sunshine is a family road trip film that accomplishes a strikingly precise balance between light comedy and light drama.

Abigail Breslin (Keane, Raising Helen) stars as a little girl named Olive who dreams of winning a beauty pageant. She gets her chance when she qualifies to compete in the title pageant. Family complications find her traveling to the competition with five other family members: her father, the struggling motivational guru; her sweetly-twisted, kind-hearted war veteran grandfather; her older brother who has taken a vow of silence; her depressed uncle who is the foremost expert on the work of Proust; and, of course, her mother. 

From beginning to end, this film progresses predictably. Along the journey, each of the characters in turn has a breakdown of some sort, including the ancient VW bus they’re riding in. None of the individual breakdowns and failures are particularly novel in and of themselves. There isn’t much here that hasn’t already been done in countless comedies before it. The fact that this is an extremely good comedy has little to do with the plot. The filmmakers (who hither to now have apparently only done music videos) have assembled an impressive ensemble that has enough heart, talent and comedic timing to make up for the story’s endless parade of shortcomings. While his story isn’t that impressive, screenwriter Michael Arndt’s dialogue is exquisite, giving the ensemble the edge they need to turn this into very deft comedy. 

As Olive’s father, Greg Kinnear (The Gift, The Matador) hits numerous dichotomies as a largely unsuccessful motivational speaker whose love for his daughter seems a bit cruel at times. Alan Arkin (The Rocketeer, Glengarry Glen Ross) walks a narrow line as the loveable grandfather who choreographed Olive’s dance routine for the pageant and also snorts refined heroine. Paul Dano (The Girl Next Door, Taking Lives) plays Olive’s silent older brother with considerable personality. For the most part, he communicates only with his eyes, body language and the tiny spiral-bound notebook he jots notes on. It’s a very understated performance. As Olive’s mother, Toni Collette (In Her Shoes, Connie and Carla) isn’t given a whole lot to do here other than look maternal and supportive. Her serious lines punctuate the comedy remarkably well in places, but the performance that brings everything together here more than anything else is that of Steve Carell (40 Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman) as Olive’s depressed uncle. Carrel hasn’t ever been given an opportunity to play a high-profile character with this much genuine depth before and he excels at it. The world’s expert on Proust, Olive’s uncle has just returned from the hospital having attempted suicide because his boyfriend has run off with the one guy in the world who could claim to know more about Proust than he does. There’s a great deal of sarcasm and complexity in Carell’s performance that subtly holds together much of the film. Abigail Breslin holds-up the emotional center of the film that is so peripheral to it the story for much of it. Her unassuming 9-year-old cuteness holds a delicate, silent sophistication. In a touching moment between her and Carell, he’s attempting to explain to her over the dinner table why he tried to kill himself. Humor and drama fuse deliciously in a moment that could’ve been played as cheap exposition.  VS

Russ Bickerstaff is a local poet and writer. His poems can be heard regularly at Linneman's Monday Poetry Night.