Film Review: Little Miss Sunshine

After having watched Little Miss Sunshine I'm feeling much better about my own family's antics. What is a dysfunctional family? Isn't there something defunct with nearly every family nowadays? I've wanted to see this movie for a while, and at the reluctance of my husband, who will have nothing to do with 'award-winning' films, I spent the time this evening to watch Little Miss Sunshine. I'm glad I did.

From the beginning, the movie seemed to drag on and on, and I frequently found myself asking, "Why am I still watching this?" It's probably because I am the kind of person that has to finish what I start, which isn't necessarily bad. As the old saying goes, "Good things come to those who wait."

The Hoover family has some issues: A father obsessed with winning (Greg Kinnear), a mother at her wit's end (Toni Collette), a son that's taken a vow of silence (Paul Dano), an overweight daughter dreaming of becoming a beauty queen (Abigail Breslin), a grandfather who is an obscene heroin addict (Alan Arkin), and last but not least a suicidal, gay uncle (Steve Carrell). Not necessarily the chipper bunch the title implies.

Despite the weak plot of this family traveling to California so that the young girl can compete in a beauty contest, the characters were so real. I could almost feel what they were feeling. There are clusters of scenes that are dull and uninteresting, but then they sneak in that occasional scene that draws something out of you - empathy, sorrow, excitement, anger - and as the good scenes appear they get increasingly appealing. By the end of the film, I was laughing out loud and wanting to hug each and every one of the characters, or cry for them and their misfortune.

It's not terribly surprising that the screenwriter of Little Miss Sunshine won an Oscar. Not only was it beautifully written, but well acted on all accounts. If you aren't into ensemble dramas, then I'd say you wouldn't be missing out on too much. Although I enjoyed this film, it isn't one I'll be gushing over and making all my friends watch. Heck, I'm not even sure I'd watch it again. But if you're capable of delving into a movie for whatever reason (mine is to escape my own reality for approximately two hours) and you enjoy doing so, then this is one I'd recommend.