The story of a dysfunctional family of misfits, losers and dreamers is neither a particularly original plotline for an indie movie, nor a big budget blockbuster. However, Little Miss Sunshine, where such a family travels to California in a broken VW bug for their daughter, Olive, to enter a children's beauty pageant, is a surprisingly fulfilling film. This family, the Hoovers, is comprised of the relatively balanced Sheryl (Toni Collette), her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear), their teenage son, Dwayne (Paul Dano) and Olive (Abigail Breslin). Also included is Richard's father, called only Grandpa (Alan Arkin) and Sheryl's brother, Frank (Steve Carell).
Like most movies about a laughably and almost unbelievably dysfunctional family (the Royal Tenenbaums comes to mind), the characters are marked by their individualism, united only by their shared lunacy and the intensity of their respective obsessions. Richard is the high-strung father who is trying to enter the world of motivational speaking. Dwayne, fixated by both Nietzsche and his unwavering desire to be an air force pilot has committed himself to silence until he becomes one. Olive is a precocious little girl with oversized glasses, an obsession with beauty pageants and an overflowing supply of optimism. There is also Frank, the recently suicidal brother and preeminent Proust scholar who fell into depression after he lost his studly boyfriend and his prestigious university position. And there's also the Grandpa, perhaps the most hilarious and endearing character, who fills the role of the coke sniffing, vulgarity spewing, old man.
Terrifically acted and refreshingly underwhelming in its visuals and narrative, the film is both hilarious and surprisingly poignant. While the antics that ensue on their road trip are most likely distant from most people's experiences, Little Miss Sunshine gets to the heart of contemporary American life. It explores the beauty and sadness of the American dream in a way that remains true to the film's milieu and free of triteness. Despite the film's portrayal of America's obsessions and ridiculousness, the film is not a piece of social criticism as it is rather sympathetic to America's quixotic nature.
Perhaps the greatest aspect of this film is its love for its characters. Most movies about the eccentric, dysfunctional family present one-dimensional characters and, when they finally do develop, it almost always seems artificial and contrived. This is not the case with Little Miss Sunshine. The movie's recognizable love and dedication to its characters creates ones that are memorable and endearing to the audience. Little Miss Sunshine is one of those rare movies that uplifts without being cliché, that makes one laugh by being clever, and that gets one to think without being overbearing or preachy.
