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A surprise ‘major indie’ comedy from last summer, this gem about an extra-quirky six person family is from the pen of Michael Arndt and enabled him to (finally?) quit his long time position as Matthew Broderick’s assistant. Most people pointed to Abigail Breslin’s performance as the title character but I enjoyed Alan Arkin’s grandfather more. He reminded me of a more realistic version of the, er, unrestrained old lady played by Estelle Getty in The Golden Girls, the big payoff coming even after he’s offscreen in the climactic beauty pageant talent performance by Breslin’s Olive.
Plenty of laughs throughout but this one nearly left me choking. Arkin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor–and Arndt for Best Original Screenplay–so perhaps I wasn’t the only one to recognize his quality. Breslin did get a Best Supporting Actress nomination and the movie one for Best Picture.
Little Miss Sunshine covers a long weekend with the Hoovers, set off by two events: the wife’s brother Frank (Steve Carell) comes to stay with them after a suicide attempt and Olive gets a chance to fill in for a regional pageant winner at the state finals. However its the California finals and the Hoovers live in New Mexico, the tot had entered on a whim while visiting a cousin, and the family is too strapped for cash to fly the 1000 miles, plus neither of the adult males is willing to stay home with Frank who can’t be left alone.
Cash is short because Dad (Greg Kinnear) is trying to get a deal to launch a career as a motivational speaker but, since these guys are all pretty much losers, the promised deal falls through. Bryan Cranston (yeah, the father from Malcolm in the Middle) has a nice hard-edge part as the dealmaker who can’t deliver. Mom (Toni Collette) is near the end of her rope dealing with this, not to mention her teenage son (Paul Dano) not speaking for nine months from a mixed inspiration of German philosopher Nietsche and plans to apply to the Air Force Academy. Not known to the family, Grandpa has a habit of sneaking snorts of heroine in the bathroom.
The only vehicle large enough for all six is a nearly dead decades old yellow VW Bus and, in the Job-like never ending series of problems for the Hoovers, its transmission kicks during the first day’s driving. Not all the way, as long as the car can be pushed so it can be started in third gear, and of course the middle of nowhere garage can’t get a replacement until Thursday. But the family abide, pushing the VW and parking on a downhill where possible.
Directing team Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton make the most of the limited budget; while they didn’t get Oscar nominations they did get one from the Directors Guild, not bad for their feature film debut.
recommended
