Little Miss Sunshine

Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valarie Faris
Olive - Abigail Breslin
Richard - Greg Kinnear
Dwayne - Paul Dano
Grandpa - Alan Arkin
Sheryl - Toni Collette
Frank - Steve Carell

The story centers on the journey of a quirky and somewhat dysfunctional family from their home to a beauty contest for the youngest member Olive. However each character takes a rather interesting journey of their own along the way and in the end we learn or are reminded a thing or two about what it means to be a family.
The father himself is a struggling motivational speaker. His dad is a Heroin addicted trash-talking but loveable character. His wife Sheryl is the supportive mother and their son a 15-year old taking a vow of silence until he joins the air force. Abigail Breslin plays Olive, their youngest, wonderfully as the down-to-earth seven year old with big dreams. She hopes to win the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California. Steve Carell joins the mix early on after he is deemed unsafe to be alone after attempting suicide. As always he adds his own unique humor to the palate.
Soon Olive gets the call that she has been accepted as a contestant in the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty pageant. It is determined that since no one can stay behind they all must travel with Olive in what becomes a hilarious road trip. For instance when the clutch gives out on their Volkswagen they must all push it to get it going and then jump in one by one. It is a family effort all the way and it especially shows at the end.
The acting is well done, most notably the characters of Olive, Richard and Frank. The whimsical soundtrack reminded me of an old western and I thought a perfect fit for the film. Little Miss Sunshine has a lot of heart and is light hearted yet serious at the same time. Few films can have this kind of mixture and pull it off well but this one does just that.

4 Stars