Little Miss Sunshine review

Every so often a little jewel of a film comes along that is refreshingly original and uproariously funny. Little Miss Sunshine sparkles amidst the big-budgeted, effects-laden and formulaic fodder that is all too often being fed audiences these days. Contrary to its title, Little Miss Sunshine is a dark comedy, one with a tender heart and offbeat sensibility. Its depiction of an eccentric family prompts comparisons with The Royal Tenenbaums, though here the surrealism is kept in check in favour of a somewhat manic absurdity.

With the Hoovers, first time screenwriter Michael Arndt has created one of recent cinema's more eccentric, dysfunctional and endearing families. There is always a certain pleasure to be had from being thrust into the midst of a fractured, turbulent family more screwed up than our own. And let's face it, any family in which the grandpa (Alan Arkin) is a heroin-snorting womanizer, his son Richard (Greg Kinnear) is an uninspiring motivational speaker, his grandson Dwayne (Paul Dano) wears a 'Jesus Was Wrong' t-shirt, reads Nietzsche and has taken a vow of silence until he qualifies as a pilot and Dwayne's seven year-old sister Olive (Abigail Breslin) is an overweight, plain looking girl obsessed with becoming a beauty queen, is a family with one or two issues. If that's not enough, Richard's wife Sheryl (Toni Collette) is forced to look after her brother Frank (Steve Carell), the nation's number one Proust scholar, after his failed suicide attempt.

What becomes of this combustible combination is deftly handled by the directing partnership of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Ferris, whose rough round the edges style and impeccable timing complements Arndt's brilliant script. The casting is perfect with the ensemble all masterfully bringing out the humanity as well as the oddities of their characters.

The best way to guarantee we see the Hoovers in their full splendour is to stick them in a van and have them drive across the country. So, when Olive qualifies for the final of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, the Hoovers squeeze into the family's broken down old VW van and drive the 800 miles from their home in Albuquerque. The journey is plagued with problems, with one running gag stemming from the clutch on the van going, requiring them to push start it in third gear every time. But it's the personal relationships and exchanges that really give the film its warmth. Seeing the passion, the pain, the heartbreak and fun the Hoovers experience on their adventure is to share the journey with them.

The trip is rewarded with a finale that hilariously pays off the film's well-developed set up. It's a fittingly unexpected and twisted end to a consistently unexpected and twisted treat.

Kevin Murphy