How frustrating is it that the decent movies are rationed to us at the rate of one-a-month, starting in March, while 90% of the the ones worth wasting ten dollars and two hours of your life, all hit the theaters in December? There is a relatively low bar set for summer movies since teenagers will watch anything as long as someone gets blown up, good looking guys and gals are included and it is loud enough to annoy adults. I was hoping that Little Miss Sunshine was as good as the buzz on the street, and much to my surprise, it was that and more. A big hit at Sundance is usually a good sign that a movie has a well thought-out script and caters to those with a triple digit IQ. I love the Indie movies as opposed to the over-hyped, horribly written, brutally acted movies coming out of Hollywood lately. I know puberty is hard, but they're not the only ones who buy movie tickets.
The only film I have remotely liked this year has been The Devil Wears Prada and only because of Meryl Streep, who single handedly made it better than it should have been. To the contrary, the whole cast of Little Miss Sunshine (Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin) were able to feed on the performances of each other and make this an impressive film. This movie will genuinely make you laugh and it is way more than another family road trip trilogy. The demographics for this movie are those whose families are not a model of perfect mental health, are indoctrinated with the fear of failure, are dysfunctional, but somehow have collective hope. The actress who plays Olive, Abigail Breslin, is talented beyond her years. You will fall in love with her innocence and enthusiasm, which to her credit, is played without being obnoxious. The love and support the eccentric family members have for her, is the main theme and ties all the characters together. It is the only thing they all have in common and is the purpose of the journey.
The satire of the children's beauty contest was priceless and brought back memories of Jon Benet Ramsy. Was it an exaggeration? Unfortunately, probably not. I highly recommend this movie and I hardly ever suggest anything that causes someone to give up ninety minutes of their life while paying ten dollars and digesting three-quarters of the saturated fat limit for an entire day over a tub of ten dollar popcorn. Enjoy.