Movie Review

“Little Miss Sunshine” from Fox Searchlight Pictures

Rating: Five Stars

The best indie films — from “Reservoir Dogs” to “Garden State,” from “Donnie Darko” to “Trainspotting” — share qualities you rarely find in Hollywood’s mainstream efforts. They often mix dark humor, quirky characters, unconventional relationships and non-linear plotlines to create something completely original and unexpected for true movie fans. “Little Miss Sunshine” is the latest-and-greatest indie movie to follow in this tradition.

When Olive (Abigail Breslin) finds out that she has a shot at achieving her dreams of becoming a contestant in the annual Little Miss Sunshine young girl’s pageant, her family sets aside their differences to drive from Albuquerque to California. Along for the road-trip and adventure are several members of her eccentric family. They include: Olive’s older brother Dwayne (Paul Dano), a 16 year old wannabe philosopher who’s taken a vow of silence inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche; her grandfather (Alan Arkin), a war veteran who has an acquired taste for cocaine; her uncle Frank (Steve Carell) who is recovering from a suicide attempt; her father Richard (Greg Kinnear), a disaster of a motivational speaker; and her mother (Toni Collete) who tries to keep this dysfunctional family together.

Put all these characters on a VW bus for a long drive, and you get several moments of zany comedy and touching drama. The acting is fantastic throughout, a nice blend of familiar faces such as Carell (coming off his huge success with “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) with fresh talent such as Breslin and Dano. I was totally absorbed by the absurd and morbid humor that ensues as the family makes it to California for the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.

If your sense of humor is a little bent, and you don’t mind whipping away tears from your eyes as you laugh and cry, then this movie is definitely for you. It’s a welcome departure from the base humor of flicks such as “Beerfest” and “Accepted” that seemed to dominate the mega-plexes this summer. In my opinion, “Little Miss Sunshine” is the best indie film of the year so far.

Ian McCarthy / VOX Staff