Little Miss Sunshine

Reviews around the nation have been giving a new film quite a bit of glamour, and fame. When it came to our town, the theaters were flooded, and the running time had to be extended for everyone to get a chance to see it. The question I began to pose was this: was this film doing so well because it honestly was a good film, or because the reviews were so great that people went in already knowing it was good. Case and point: Napoleon Dynamite. That certainly was a film that needed no introduction, and seemed to be so great even without seeing it. I personally have never seen it, but with as many quotes offered, I feel as if I had.

So to test this theory, I went to the newest hit Little Miss Sunshine.

And I must say, it had a great cast: Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, and Steve Carell. Without going any further, I want to say that this film, at least for me, was carried by Steve Carell. It seemed to me that he was the character we were all supposed to relate to. He was the one that had no exposure with this family until ordered to do so. Through his eyes, we are offered a picture of a dysfunctional family: A father who is obsessed with his own 9 step success program, a mother who is desperately trying to keep the family afloat, a son who has given up speaking because of a long passed philosophical hero, a grandfather who is addicted to drugs, a daughter whose aspiration is to become a beauty queen, and our hero, the suicidal homosexual scholar.

This crew is given the chance to drive to California, and enter their daughter into the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. The film focuses around their travels to reach this goal, as well as their struggle to maintain a working family. Along the way, everything imaginable happens, from damage to the car, to family death, to dreams being smashed. But yet, despite all this hardship, they each find something in themselves to continue going. It's not the hope that Olive will win the pageant; it's the hope that the family will come together and function as a loving unit.

And finally, Steve Carell is offered a chance to illustrate his comedy outside of a Will Farrell/Jim Carey sense. Before being labeled as a comedy, this is a drama about a suffering family that must come together. Only through their pains do we find things funny, and amusing. What's better than when actors cross over to a different type of film: when they do it well!

That being said, as I was watching the film, I felt connected to Carell, and Carell only. It seemed to me that the rest of the characters were somewhat cardboard. It seemed that each one of them had something special: Grandfather = coke addict, Mother = smoker, Son = not speaking, desire to get into air force. But it seemed as if these things were added to make up for their somewhat lacking personalities. And it is true, men like Steve Carell, and women like Greg Kinnear. It seems to me that when I speak to people about this film, all the women spoke of was Greg Kinnear.

The direction of this film is pretty solid, and there really isn't too much to speak of when it comes to cinematography. So, when coming down to it, I have to say that yes, it was a very enjoyable film, and that I would recommend it to all that I spoke to. But I certainly wouldn't give it the praise that all the critics are giving it. It is not the next Shawshank, in terms of quality. It is a cute little film that really does well to illustrate the problems that exist in many of our families, and through its comedic timing, brings us to the moral with a smile on our face. Check it out, and I'm sure you'll enjoy. 7.25 of 10.