Review of Little Miss Sunshine (2006) by Hardy C — 25 Feb 2012

"Little Miss Sunshine" is a perfect example of a missed opportunity. The film is about a family that is unwavering to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty show, which takes them on a cross-country road trip.

The performances are terrific, especially of the young Abigail Breslin. There is one wonderful scene with her grandfather where she cries. The picture is so incredibly good and funny from the start, up until the sequence before the demise of one of the characters.

Then it falters. Paul Dano, who plays the son, finds out that he is color blind during the trip. He is fifteen and in high school, so wouldn't you think that he would have found this out before this trip? It just does not make sense to me.

Many of the other minor setbacks the family has seem programmed, not genuine. A problem arises and moments later it is magically solved. Plus, the husband-wife directors had to succumb to audience lesson- teaching and melodrama, which was extremely distasteful.

I did love the climatic fashion show. But, it is just disappointing that this film could have been such refreshment, but chose to easy conventionalities.