Little Miss Sunshine

I really liked this movie. There were a few things that I thought were a little weak about it, but overall I think it featured stellar performances, a clever and entertaining story, and a good time. It's always amazing to me when so many bad things can happen in a movie and yet you're left at the end feeling good, happy, and satisfied. I don't even know which of the actors to rave about first, perhaps Greg Kinnear as the success obsessed (but totally unsuccessful) father who tries to parent out of a book. I thought Toni Collette was also awesome as a totally frazzled, desperate mother, who's willing to show she does NOT have all the answers. Interesting to me that the actors who got the nominations, however, were child actress Abigail Breslin, as Olive (little miss sunshine contender herself) and Grandpa, or Alan Arkin, for his heroin-addicted fuck-em-all grandpa. Craziness. I'm almost still too full of the movie to really give a cogent review. My favorite character might actually have been Dwayne, the son. I've never seen him in anything before, but I thought he did an amazing job. That climactic seen in the van just before they reach the pageant. Whew. And he and Steve Carell achieve a great dynamic together. Although one of their scenes is one of my complaints. I felt like that scene on the dock was also supposed to be sort of a climax, not so much for Dwayne or Frank, but representing the whole family's attitude change. And I thought the script (for such an important point in the film) was actually rather weak. "Fuck beauty contests. Life is just a long series of beauty contests." I'm not sure I think that quite sums it up. But maybe I misunderstand the point of the scene and it is just more Dwayne resolution. Anyway, the movie was great. Go see it if you haven't yet.