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Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
6/17
6/17:
While watching Little Miss Sunshine, all I could think of was how the filmmakers blatantly ripped off
National Lampoon's Vacation with a little bit from the third part.
It's about a dysfunctional family of father, mother, son, and daughter? Check. The father is a straight-arrow, maybe of the
slight corporate type who's always positive, no matter how bleak the situation is? Check. And his mind is on something
important that's work-related like a bonus check or a promotion? Check. The mother is down-to-earth and supportive? Check.
There's a weird, mess-up male relative in the family? Check
Somebody is mute? Check. They go on a road trip faraway, deeming the destination so important that the family has to do
everything to make it, no matter the cost, and the direction is to the west? Check. An old, ornery relative goes along
for the ride and dies during the trip? Check. And his body is placed somewhere weird in the car? Check. The family drives
a beat-down, faulty vehicle? Check. A cop pulls over the family and takes the father to the rear of the car to have a
discussion? Check. By the time the family arrives at the destination, it's not what they hoped for? Check.
I feel like the screenwriter, who's a one-time assistant to Matthew Broderick, saw too many films such as American Beauty,
Parenthood, The Addams Family, and anything by John Hughes. At least, he didn't try to go by the way of
Weekend at Bernie's which would've been tired. Then, he took down some textbook ideas that were "tried-and-true" such
as the driving technique from The Karate Kid and twisted them to the point of appearing originally different and
conforming in this day and age. That's why I can't shake my mind off the deliberate move to make the yellow VW bus as the
centerpiece.
Rocky, Harold and Maude, and Easy Rider were original, but Little Miss Sunshine leaves me cheated.
Like Gregory's Girl, it runs mainly on quirks; how can people hate the little cute girl with glasses? It's pure
manipulation of the highest order. However, it's a charming film that has plenty of funny scenes, especially the ending,
although inappropriate, and the moment when Dwayne found out he's color-blind. As a matter of fact, I like this movie better
than National Lampoon's Vacation because it's less offensive.
I actually decided to watch Little Miss Sunshine because of Alan Arkin who won an Oscar for his supporting role.
Afterwards, I have to say I'm surprised because it's not a great performance. Instead, it must have been for his overall body
of work. He was brilliant during the 60's, turning in powerful performances for
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, and Wait Until Dark.
Nominated for the first two films, he should've won an Oscar for either of the last two. Then, the Academy forgot all about
him until thirty-eight years later. What Alan Arkin did in Little Miss Sunshine is akin to a day off for a 4-minute miler who
jogged an easy 5:30 mile, thinking nothing of it. His character did go too far with the profanity-laced diatribe in the van
while the girl had her headphones on.
Instead, it's Paul Dano who blows the doors off Alan Arkin's performance by playing a unique character. He provides the most
comic relief with a deadpan face to boot, only needing a Pink Floyd The Wall t-shirt to complete the look. Steve Carell is a
great complement to him and might have scored an Oscar nomination. Greg Kinnear is nothing new while Toni Collette
can't act. Abigail Breslin is merely used as a buffer to ward off the hate, making it easy for the audience to fall in love
with her and ultimately the movie.
One thing that bothers me the most, other than the blatant rip-off of National Lampoon's Vacation, is the weak
chemistry of the cast. It seems like everybody showed up on the set the first day and proceeded with the filming. Usually, movies
do well in terms of getting them to click together first, but this never did until late in the show.
At the beginning, when Olive watched a tape of some beauty pageant, I immediately had a flash of how this was going to go
down. By no surprise to me, it's exactly what happened when the family arrived at the hotel in Redondo Beach. I get it: nobody
approved of JonBenét Ramsey's underground lifestyle, and they all wanted to revel in the trashing of it. Plus, there's
no way Frank was going to see his erstwhile student at a gas station in the middle of the road trip. Let me cue what Richard
Blaine would've said: "Of all the gas stations in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine."
Finally, I cannot believe the family spent thousands of dollars to go all the way from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to California,
only to throw away the show at the end. It's why people should keep it local. Sure, they're quirky people and a band of
losers, but who are we kidding here? Let's face it: they all knew the girl was out of her league at the
beauty pageant. Hello, California? It's the land of money, palm trees, blonde women with boob jobs, and an endless stream of
money to throw away.
All in all, it's easy to be reminded of National Lampoon's Vacation, but Little Miss Sunshine has charm.