DVD review: Little Miss Sunshine

The independent film circle is one that only occasionally sees the kind of breakthrough success that feeds Hollywood and the great money making machine. More often than not, a film introduced at Sundance or on a smaller budget sees limited release with great critical acclaim (or indifference) and commercial apathy.

The independent film circle is one that only occasionally sees the kind of breakthrough success that feeds Hollywood and the great money making machine. More often than not, a film introduced at Sundance or on a smaller budget sees limited release with great critical acclaim (or indifference) and commercial apathy. Little Miss Sunshine however, managed to overcome its role as a small film and not only find a vast and adoring audience, but commercial, and eventual award season success.

The film is a great peek at the cloistered lives of American suburbia, complete with a batch of eccentric characters that one would probably never find in a single family. But, everyone could probably name someone in their family who acts as weird as or weirder than a couple of them.

The story is simple, which is half the beauty of the film. Olive Hoover is given a call that she’s been chosen as an alternate to fill in at the Little Miss Sunshine pageant across the country. Her parents decide to drive her, but cannot leave any of family at home, each for their own reasons and they all set out on a cross country road trip in a breaking down VW bus.

This film, at times hilarious, at times sad, and at times both at the same time, is a perfect blend of everything that makes good drama palatable in today’s film industry. Its characters are so fully developed and taken seriously just enough that when they’re made fun of, you feel an affinity with the situation.

Frank, the Proust scholar and Olive’s uncle, tells a tale of falling in love with and being spurned by a male student. He attempts to commit suicide and upon release stays with his sister Sheryl and the Hoover family. His situation, both depressing and sad at the same time is not what this film is about. For him, it’s about finding a reason to live again, of seeing beyond what other people think and finding peace with himself.

Dwayne, Olive’s brother and an avid reader of Niezche, takes a vow of silence until he’s able to join the military and leave his family. His is a situation of selfishness and nihilism, trying to find a purpose in life that doesn’t involve where he comes from.

These among the problems of every other character revolve around finding a comfort zone with one’s self, of being able to accept life and enjoy it, which all the while is what Olive does, always happy and most of all, always happy with how she feels about herself. It makes for some hilarious scenes of adolescent self confidence and an amazing conclusion to the film, but it works so well.

What Little Miss Sunshine does so well, above anything else, is find humor in the tragedy of its characters; not because their pain is funny, but because the selfishness of their pain is ironic and when they finally realize that, the humor is entirely justified, something the audience realized the entire time.

This is the kind of movie I would love to see more of from Hollywood, good honest, comedy with a purpose – a well written film with heart and a message that doesn’t beat you over the head.

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