Little Miss Sunshine: Film Review

Trailer:



Overview:

I know I'm several years late on watching this movie but here goes. I loved it. Mostly I just wanted to watch a movie that was different from what I normally watch. Not only did it fulfill my need for something different, but it was also an excellent study in character development. When I listened to the film commentary, they said it was hard to explain to people why they should see the film because the characters were the most interesting part while the plot wasn't. I agree. Although, I did really like the fact that it wasn't really about the beauty pageant in the end but rather the development of the family dynamic.

Steve Carell and Abigail Breslin are hands down the best performances. It doesn't hurt that I have a soft spot for Carell as a Denison alum, but I really did think this is easily one of his best roles. Breslin didn't have any over-exaggeration in her role that I normally see in child acting. When she was excited, it was so absolutely genuine, yet I feel she must have been playing a character very different from herself because it's also generally easy to spot if children are playing themselves because they're simply being but not projecting the character. I may be dissolving into incoherency, but even while the performance was so believable, I also feel that a performance of that complexity could not have simply come from accident.

Favorite Scenes:

I love the scene in the beginning where the word "Sunshine" is transposed over Steve Carell's depressed face.

I love Breslin hopping up and down as she listens to the answering machine. It's such a happy scene and she does it so well. I actually wondered if they had a trampoline under her as the hopping was so impressive.

8 /10 Stars * * * * * * * *

Spoilers:

The grandfather was the hardest character for me to feel sympathetic towards but I loved how the family came together over his death. I was actually talking to the screen, telling them to steal the body!