LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

MOVIE review
by Amber Tatum and Steven Bonham

Good to the last drop. Or so the subtitle should read. Little Miss Sunshine beams in as the surprise indie hit thus far in 2006. Despite seemingly trite circumstantial elements such as the ever popular “journey in a car equals journey of life” theme, hyper dysfunctional characters and gratuitous language (thank you heroine-pumping grandpa), the film boldly captures the poignancy and soul of honest relationships. At times the movie could be mistaken for a documentary due to dead on performances by the all-star cast. One might even expect the film’s big names such as Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear or The Office’s Steve Carell to be spotlight hogs, but in fact, the six distinct main characters function as one beautifully twisted ensemble.

Little Miss Sunshine is undoubtedly made beautiful by the “little” things; namely, perfect comedic timing, priceless facial expressions and appropriately placed music (Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago” takes the cake). The film is certainly one of the darkest comedies to hit theatres in a while with its blatant presentation of drug abuse, homosexuality, death, suicide, divorce, and horrific parenting. However, it is nearly impossible for anyone not to feel just a bit lighter upon exiting the theatre. USA Today’s Claudia Puig writes that “it's one of the rare comedies that is consistently funny for most of its 101 minutes, which is no small feat.” We agree Claudia. We agree.