Cast: Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell
Director: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Rating:
Enetertainment Quotient: 30%
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Runtime: 101 min
MPAA rating: R for language, some sex and drug content.

Synopsis:

This film is about a not-so-affectionate family, but how all family members conjure together to make the little girl of their house participate in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ contest to be held in California. Here is the description of each family member -

Husband: Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a motivational speaker who leads his life by religiously following what was written in the motivation books. He tries to be too idealistic and his family does not like his idealistic attitude as it is not practical.

Wife: Sheryl (Collette) is a compulsive smoker and her attitude is stark apposite to her husband’s.

Husband’s father: Alan Arkin is a free spirited man who loves talking how many women floored for him and engaged in sexual relationship with him. The old man enjoys drugs, but voluntarily extends help when it is really needed.

Wife’s brother: Frank (Steve Carell) attempts suicide because his gay partner has betrayed him by going for another friend. His sister takes him to her house to make sure that he would not take extreme step again.

Son: Dwayne (Paul Dano) is an angry and determined kid who wants to practice silence till he achieves his goal of becoming a pilot.

Daughter: Olive’s (Abigail Breslin) dream is to participate in beauty pageant and win it.

All these six people take a small bus from their town to California to make Olive participate in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ contest. This journey helps them understand each other well. The climax of the story is all about whether Olive wins the crown or not.

What I liked in the film?

The idea of non-emotional family members uniting together and learning their shortcomings while working towards a common goal. Screenplay of the film is pretty good. The director mixed pathos with humor and touched dark subjects.

What I did not like in the film?

The climax of the film appears little out of place.

Oscars:
This film won Best performance by an actor in a supporting role (Alan Arkin) and Best writing and original screenplay.

Tailpiece:
This movie starts with introducing six characters in a row. And you see the negative sides of the characters first. Then slowly the director unveils the positive sides of the characters.