Review of Little Miss Sunshine (2006) by Adam A — 14 Jan 2014

I have a tendency to like dramedies even if their flaws are abundantly clear. Little Miss Sunshine is one of those dramedies that contain no flaws, at least in my opinion. I enjoyed the hell out of this film the first time I watched it and just as much the next few times.

The film is written by Michael Arndt, and this was his first adapted screenplay. This man knows how to make a story that is emotional and at the same time subtly funny, which is probably the main reason he was brought in to do Toy Story 3. He has created this dysfunctional family filled with personalities that clearly don't mesh with one another and they have to be together in order to bring Olive, the daughter, to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. The film focuses on this family who are clearly not very successful in either their career, family, or even their life, and their burdens have caused dysfunction within the family. This is something that I can easily empathise as everyone, at least, at some point has had dysfunction in their own homes. The film itself is kind of a message in telling us to keep trying in achieving our ambitions, and don't give up just because the journey is hard.

This is directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and this is their first feature film. A fantastic way to start their career in feature films, before they were just doing music videos and documentaries. The film has a small budget and maybe that is one reason this film couldn't do more spectacular moments, aside from the pageant but with what they did, they did great. Dayton and Faris has created a film that is very cramped emphasising on each member's personality and struggles. Most of the film is shot inside the VW bus and because we see the bus in a lot of the film, it becomes a character of it's own. This film does similarly look like the low budget films that are commonly found at festivals like Sundance but it's strong script and simple direction makes this film a gem.

Like I said before, the film feels like a low budget film and looks like what a dramedy should look. It looks engaging and accessible while at the same time feeling very intimate and simple. The DP of this film is Time Suhrstedt who commonly does a lot of romantic comedies, comedies and dramedies like "Office Space" and "The Wedding Singer"; he also did the photography of a couple of personal favorites of mine "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Fantasia 2000". The film doesn't try to look amazing but there are moments, like the first 5 minutes of the film, where shots look beautiful, though only a handful.

When I come into a film like this, I expect a fantastic soundtrack that dominates the film rather than the composer's score. Little Miss Sunshine has a great soundtrack, just not as abundant as I thought it would be but I think that it's a good thing as it would have distracted me from the little things in scenes. Though the track that plays in the climax is unexpected and hilarious. The score though in this film is great, it fits well with the tone and feels very hopeful and positive.

This film has an amazing ensemble cast which work well together and looks very convincing in their role. Steve Carrell took me by surprise in particular as I generally see him as an over top actor but he convinced me here that he can play something serious. Paul Dano was another actor which I liked in this film a lot as most of his acting is played through facial expressions, and that particular scene where he breaks is just phenomenal. Kinnear, Collette, Arkin and Breslin were also great in this film. The cast feels like a real dysfunctional family, and each one feels realistic and none feel cheesy or over the top.

The film feels very heartwarming and is easy to digest. It's a fantastic dramedy about a family that makes you think about your own and how similar it may seem. The film shows us the importance in trying and not giving up, because only losers give up.