Little Miss Sunshine

In my opinion, the movie, Little Miss Sunshine, was very well written and executed in a way that had some serious and some laugh out loud moments. It was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. It also has some big actors which include; Abigail Breslin(Olive Hoover), Greg Kinnear(Richard Hoover), and Paul Dano(Dwayne Hoover). It also starred Alan Arkin as Grandpa Ed and Steve Carell as Frank Ginsbon. The man who helped write and create the movie was Michael Arndt. I thought that the storyline was interesting because it showed the real life of a dysfunctional family. It was something you could relate to. There were a couple of major scenes in the movie that helped the plot of the film. The plot is a family is determined to get their daughter to a beauty pageant. They go on a road trip by piling into a VW bus and heading to California to support a daughter in her bid to win the Little Miss Sunshine Contest and along the way they have a couple of bumps in the road. The production side of the movie made it excellent with the pace of the movie and the diegetic sound. Other important parts of the film were the main character, Abigail Breslin(Olive), and the family dynamics throughout the movie. There were two main parts to the production of the movie that made it excellent. It was the pace of the movie and the diegetic sound. The movie was about almost a two-hour movie, which is about average for a comedy-drama movie to be. However, I noticed at times that the movie would bring my attention in and at other times it would drag out. For example, the gas station scene when the family is on the road, in my opinion, was slow and almost unnecessary because it didn’t fall in line with the rest of the storyline/plot of the movie. I think this because it only had minor details in it and was kind of boring. It showed the uncle buying inappropriate magazines for the grandpa. Then it showed the dad on a phone call with his work and explaining something that happened within the company. In another scene at the end of the beauty pageant, that whole scene drew me in because you could finally see the family come together and fully support their daughter. A lot was going on and I could not take my eyes off the screen. Diegetic sound is a noise that has a source on-screen. They are noises that have not been edited in. The movie did a good job of adding this in and it played a big role in the movie. The son in the movie took a vow of silence until he made it into the air force academy. Something happened in the movie where it affected the speech of the son(I will not spoil it), but the diegetic sound of the son changes. This is important because it was something significant that changed the mood of the son for the rest of the movie. This is where the family hit their first major bump in the road. The family has quite a few scenes where they talk over one another. This is important because it is a family dynamic where you see in almost all the families. It also gets really loud and then dead silent right after the family finishes arguing with one another. Another example of this involves the little girl. In the movie, you always see her dancing and listening to her music. In the movie, you never hear her music until the big performance and it’s quite clever how the director did this because it is a shock to everyone. It also gave us a final laugh out loud moment. The whole movie is based around Olive Hoover(Abigail Breslin). The family works very hard to make sure that they can make their daughter happy and fulfill her goal of winning the pageant. The dad takes time off work, and the grandpa and uncle tag along because they have to and they want to support their granddaughter/niece. Even when the family disagrees or has an argument, she is the one who steps in to help or is the resolution to the problems along the way. In other words, she is the glue to the family. She is very curious about the world. She asks a bunch of questions and wants to understand why her family does what they do. Olive Hoover also faced a couple of speed bumps along the way. Since she is in the pageant world, she is constantly worrying about how she looks and acts. Her father was not very supportive and even called her fat because she wanted to eat ice cream. No matter what problem she faced, she always prevailed and tried her best. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directors, did a good job of creating a very specific family dynamic. It played a huge role in making the movie what intended to become. They made sure that each character had a specific mood they gave off. For example, the daughter was carefree and a ball of energy, the uncle was depressed and had a gloomy outlook, and the mom just tried her best to make everyone happy. You see all of this in the opening scene of the movie. This makes it more relatable because, at some point in the viewers' life, the director was trying to make a connection. Everyone involved in the production of the movie wanted to get the main theme/idea of the movie across, which was that family is the most important thing in the world. They would do anything for you and will always come together at the end of the day. This is important because it helps the movie become more of a real-life thing and it makes it more memorable when you can connect with the movie.All in all, this was a well-produced movie and I highly recommend it. It was different from most movies because it had relatable content and it had hidden humor within the movie, which is my personal favorite. I like how it showed how the family puts “fun” in dysfunctional.

Great acting. Great story, fun to watch

It would be unfair to limit the film to one adjective. But charming is the first one that comes to mind. I really don't know how they did it, but the screenwriter Michael Arndt and directing team Dayton/Faris (Jonathan and Valerie, that is) have managed to create a movie in which we are simply so connected to the characters it's frightening. This is a very quirky bunch, and while their traits can be found in everyone we know, they are certainly extremely weird and I certainly don't know any families who are quite as odd as the Hoovers. And yet, we forge such a strong bond with each and every one of them, right from the opening pre-title introduction sequence - probably the best character introduction sequence I've seen since Magnolia. These people are just so real! It's unbelievable just how three-dimensional these characters are. They remind me of The Squid and the Whale - another recent movie that comes to mind when I think of this type of character development - these are just normal, regular people, and the filmmakers developed them as such in the most in-depth, well thought-out and just ingenious way possible.That brings me to the second adjective: Realism. If you've seen the film you know that some pretty wacky things go on in it, but in the end, these people are just plain real. They are real human beings - at least we the viewing audience come to believe. If they weren't so incredibly well thought out and detailed and rounded, we wouldn't forge such a strong bond with them. But fact of the matter is, the Hoovers have quickly become one of the most memorable cinematic families. Their traits. Their flaws. Their dreams and ambitions. Their dynamics, mannerisms, nuances. Every tiny little detail about these people is just so incredibly portrayed.Obviously, it would be unfair to say that a comedy isn't funny. When Little Miss Sunshine gets funny, it's hilarious - we're talking pitch-black dark and very quirky comedy, but it works admirably, reaching sort of a peak in the infamous, hilarious and totally wacky traffic cop scene.The acting is. Simply put, amazing. You won't see any Oscar moments here, no characters that have some particular traits that require various forms of "method acting" to perform. This is simply actors playing a bunch of people who they are clearly quite unlike, but playing them as if they are. The shining star is young Abigail Breslin, who out-acts pretty much all of her older cast-mates. How she can embody a completely other character at such a young age is completely beyond me - and she's been doing it since age 6! Dakota Fanning, watch out! Paul Dano, the other young actor, also delivers an amazing performance. Myself being fresh out of that period of my life, I can say that his portrayal of a frustrated teenager - specifically in the scene where he just explodes (those who have seen the movie will know what I'm talking about) is just so true and realistic. Arkin is brilliant as the old grandfather, who is at once quite annoying and vulgar and at once the most human of all the characters. The three adult leads also deliver wonderful, nuanced performances - Toni Colette, who has quite a streak of wonderful performances in various films, particularly impressed me.

Little Miss Sunshine is a story about a dysfunctional family. Steve Carell is Frank the uncle. He was a professor that got fired, lost his home and tried to kill himself. His sister Sheryl played by Toni Collette is married to Richard played by Greg Kinnear who is a motivational speaker and self-help coach who spews out catch phrases about being winners and losers non-stop to everyone and is a bit of a jerk. They have a son Dwayne played by Paul Dano who is into the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, hates everyone and has taken a vow of silence. The other child is Olive played by Abigail Breslin who wants to be a beauty queen and is going to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine contest hence the movie title. Finally, there’s the grandpa Edwin played by Alan Arkin. He trains Olive for contests, gets high and talks about how much he wants to have sex. They take a trip together in a Volkswagen bus to go to the Little Miss Sunshine competition in California. That’s the source of the comedy and drama as you put these odd characters all together stuck in a very small bus on a roadtrip.There are plenty of examples about what a bad mix this family is. Dwayne writes a note to Frank when he arrives at their house that says, “Welcome to hell.” Richard tells his daughter Olive not to apologize because it’s a sign of weakness and then tells her that if she eats ice cream she’s going to get fat and that’s not what beauty queens look like. Olive is about 10 years old, and that’s her dad’s message to her. The whole point is putting this group of people together in a bus for several days is going to lead to nothing but trouble.The movie is a very endearing portrait of a family with problems with lots of laughs thrown in as well.C

This 2006 road trip family drama features seven-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) who has qualified for the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant in two days time, but although her parents want to support her, they have a dysfunctional extended family to contend with. Hitting the road in a small yellow Volkswagen T2 Microbus they all go on the 800-mile (1,287-km) road trip, but can they hold it together and will they get there on time?The cast is superb, but it’s Abigail Breslin that steals the show as the enthusiastic pageant hopeful. The ‘dark’ personal issues within the group and serious topics touched upon are well balanced by the light hearted situations they find themselves in, making this an enjoyable but emotional ‘ride’.The single disc opens to main menu offering play, language selection [English, audio descriptive, directors commentary, subtitles as above], scene selection, special features [commentary, alternate endings] and coming soon [3 trailers].With swearing and scenes of drug taking from the outset this is a surprise15 rating as it could very easily have been a PG with little work and great fun for all the family. It remains a touching drama but the ‘comedy’ aspect is a bit light although the importance of family is well documented without being overbearing. I’d like to give this a **** but despite my misgivings find myself having to award *****.

Loved this film when I saw it years ago - and decided to show it to my young son (forgetting about some of the content). It starts with snorting cocaine and that's before the titles! So that will teach me to judge a film by memory as being suitable...But for adults, this is a wonderful film full of engaging characters and funny moments. It could be one of the best road movies to date. Just don't show it to your kids...

Looking for yet another Rom-com to cheer you up, where you know exactly how it will end...? Apply elsewhere! This is a movie that takes its good time in getting to the feel-good part, but does so with such a compellingly dysfunctional family of characters that you'll feel enriched for staying on board to the end.The stalls are set out from the get go, when we meet each of the principal characters of the family, as different as could be. When the young daughter has a chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant (scary that such events exist), they all up and leave en masse in the yellow VW minivan for a memorable road trip. The worldly and outspoken grandpa, the suicidal brother, the relatively normal mother trying to keep the family on track, the father obsessed with success but unable to grasp it himself, the rebelling teenager in a vow of silence.. all are thrown into close proximity for the journey to California. Add a seriously temperamental VW minibus, and the stage is set for some soul searching, reality checks, pathos and humour.As a comedy, this is certainly no exercise in hilarity or slapstick.... but it will leave you smiling, and it WILL leave you talking about it after the DVD is back in the case.. what better compliment could there be.

I didn't know what to expect with this movie. I was afraid I would be disappointed after all the hype it got last year, but I'm glad to say it lived up to its billing. Little Miss Sunshine is fueled along by its marvelous indy spirit. It doesn't look like anything Hollywood would have dreamed up, as it avoids the corny sentimentality and delivered some real heart-felt emotions. Abigail Breslin stands out as Olive, a young girl dreaming of beauty pageants, with Alan Arkin as her crusty grandfather coaching her in her ambitions. The film is filled with many surprise turns so no sense in spoiling it for you by telling too much of the plot. Each character is drawn out in turn so that no one in this disfunctional family gets left behind on the VW bus ride as the Hoovers head from Albuquerque to California to give Olive her moment to bask in the sunshine.

This film slipped under most people's radar when it was first released, and by word-of-mouth, such a wide range of audiences came to see it. I wasn't expecting much, but I was blown away at the originality of the characters, simplicity of the storyline, and how heart-felt and poignant the whole film was.I am a fan of Steve Carell, and I think he has superb on-screen chemistry with Toni Colette and Paul Dano. His role as the suicidal uncle is brilliant, and different to his other comedy roles, but he can still bring some hunour to it.Watching this five years on, it still has all the humour and tear-jerking moments which I felt when I first watched this. I think most people will love this story of a dysfunctional family and their growth throughout the film!! A must!