The first description that comes to mind after viewing the film �Little Miss Sunshine� is absolutely chaotic, with a huge touch of rip-roaring humor.
Released in late July, �Little Miss Sunshine� is a film that has been in theaters for quite some time now, but I personally had not caught too much wind of it.
By Renee DeFloria,
Senior Staff Writer
The first description that comes to mind after viewing the film �Little Miss Sunshine� is absolutely chaotic, with a huge touch of rip-roaring humor.
Released in late July, �Little Miss Sunshine� is a film that has been in theaters for quite some time now, but I personally had not caught too much wind of it.
Acclaimed by critics and movie goers alike, this film is one ray of sunshine to catch before it flickers out.
Hailing from Albuquerque, the Hoover family is the definitive example of the word dysfunctional.
The mother, Sheryl, (played by Toni Collette) and her seven-year-old daughter, Olive, (Abigail Breslin) appear to be the only sane characters throughout the entire movie.
The story line begins when Sheryl is picking up her brother Frank (Steve Carell) from the hospital after he has tried to commit suicide. In his best interest, Frank must stay with his sister’s family.
Additionally, Frank has to room with Sheryl’s son Dwayne (Paul Dano) who is obsessed with Friedrich Nietzsche and has not uttered a word to anyone in quite some time.
Olive’s father (Greg Kinnear) seems the most off balance one of all, as he is a failure of a motivational speaker, but still pushes his nine basic beliefs of winners, losers, and success on everyone around him.
Adding the final touch to crazy would be the outspoken, drug-using grandfather, (Alan Arkin) who’s addicted to sex, porn, and helping his granddaughter succeed with her dreams of winning a beauty pageant.
After learning about the winner’s deception in a previous beauty pageant in which Olive was the runner up, the Hoover family learns that little Olive now has the chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California.
Packing their things in an impromptu road trip, the Hoover family piles into a beat up Volkswagen van and travel 700 miles in order to fulfill Olive’s big dream. The task, of course, is not an easy one.
Enduring vehicle clutch failure, death, heartache, and personal battles, the Hoover family embarks on one journey that will change them all forever.
Even though it may seem like this film touches on a lot of serious issues, one thing is for certain, you will have a good laugh about it. Including stand out performances from Steve Carell, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, and Greg Kinnear, �Little Miss Sunshine� is one film that is anything but little.
Kick back, have a good laugh – a road trip hasn’tbeen this hazardous since �Vacation.� I give this film an enthusiastic A.
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