Little Miss Sunshine

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

To think that a film like this can ever come out of American cinema defies logic. With 20 wins under its belt and nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture, my friend from the Netherlands actually saw this film two months ago in Amsterdam and was immediately captivated by its twisted but funny Americana family.

(wiki)Little Miss Sunshine by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, is the story of the Hoovers, a fictional dysfunctional family from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The characters are introduced in the opening sequences; Sheryl Hoover (Toni Collette), a stressed and over-worked mother of two, picks up her brother Frank (Steve Carell- Forty Year Old Virgin) at a hospital after the depressed, gay Proust scholar has recovered from a failed suicide attempt. Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear- As Good as it Gets) is a manic go-getter striving to sell his motivational nine-step technique to becoming a winner. Dwayne (Paul Dano), Sheryl's son, is an angst-ridden, avowedly mute, Nietzsche-reading teenager who has dedicated his life to joining the Air Force Academy in order to become a test pilot. Richard's father, Edwin (Alan Arkin), recently evicted from a retirement home for snorting heroin, is shown to have a strong bond with his seven-year-old granddaughter Olive (Abigail Breslin), and coaches her to perform in a child beauty pageant.

The tensions unravel as the family gets into their beaten yellow VW and go on a road trip to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California. But as fate would throw almost every scathing disappointments their way, the family trudged on stubbornly , and come on, the tenacity can be totally heartwarming.

Being a self-confessed fan of dysfunctional families myself (I am a huge Simpson, Family Guy and American Dad fan), the story of 'Sunshine' is an endearing one as it digs deep into the universal psyche of families in all its disturbing quirkiness. I wouldnt be totally surprised if 'Sunshine' can pull the rug under other Best Picture contenders- but of course the Oscars have not been totally known to give proper credit where credit is due but that's another story- and romp away with the overrated statuette.

You gotta love this movie not for the big stars, but for its big heart that never begs.