‘Little Miss Sunshine’:
A Hilariously Poignant Road Trip Worth Taking

By Margaret Lipman (September 5, 2006)

It’s probably a good thing that I knew hardly anything about “Little Miss Sunshine” before going to see it.  Most descriptions and reviews of the film hardly do it justice and make the movie seem a lot more bizarre than it is.  That’s not to say that “Little Miss Sunshine” is a typical movie; it definitely is a bit strange, but that strangeness is just part of its charm.

 “Little Miss Sunshine” is essentially a road trip movie, with the Hoover family of Albuquerque as the road trippers.  They are easily one of the most eclectic and unique cinematic families that I have ever seen, befitting a dark comedy of this caliber.  Grandpa Hoover (Alan Arkin) is a foul-mouthed cocaine addict, his son Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a success-obsessed motivational speaker married to Sheryl (Toni Collette), the frazzled yet admirably calm Mrs. Hoover.  Their children are 15-year old Dwayne (Paul Dano), who has taken a vow of silence in honor of Friedrich Nietzsche, and seven-year old Olive (Abigail Breslin), an adorably cute yet normal kid. Sheryl’s brother Frank (Steve Carell) is also along for the ride and is under close supervision, having recently attempted suicide over unrequited love for a male grad student and the subsequent loss of his job. 

When the Hoovers get a call that Olive has a chance to compete in the national “Little Miss Sunshine” competition (a sort of “Miss America” pageant for the under-10 set), the family is thrown together (some willingly, some not) in a rickety old VW bus bound for Redondo Beach.  Of course, the trip doesn’t exactly go smoothly, somewhat like the bus, which is practically unable to decelerate.  Each character has his or her own personal demons to wrestle with among the company of family members with whom they seem to have nothing in common.  But the Hoovers really do have something in common – their affection for Olive, who is genuinely thrilled at her chance to be “Little Miss Sunshine” and is mostly unaware of the turmoil going on around her.

I won’t give away what happens when the Hoovers actually get to the pageant (it’s just too good to spoil!), but the strength of the movie rests on the journey to Redondo Beach.  In the most poignant way – though without a single sugary cliché -- the dysfunctional Hoovers somehow manage to become something of a family.  It’s odd, unpredictable, and hilarious – definitely the best film of the summer!