This is the funniest movie I saw last year. Its not exactly the most authentic movie of the year. It's calculated. But that's not always a bad thing. I don't think it is here either. I've heard that the characters of Little Miss Sunshine fall into independent film cliches, but I must not have seen enough independent movies to be in the loop because they felt fresh to me. Sure, it's a bit of a shock that such singularly defined characters would be in the same family, much less the same movie, but that's okay. The acting melts the family into something I found believable. I could empathize with them, and that made them real. They're real in the world of the movie (a comedy where everything is accentuated a bit above normal=the beauty pagent). And I liked the performances. Paul Dano's character could have been a one-note hijink, but I feel comfortable with saying he infused the character with heart and angst I could buy. His breakdown shook me in ways that I did not expect from this movie. Real acting bravado. Abijail Breslin was a treat. Her scene with Alan Arkin in the hotel was pure acting joy. Alan Arkin's character is a bit of a cliche (the foul mouthed old yeller who says what he wants to when he wants to), but he made the most of it. I had a good time with it. I laughed. Sometimes uncomfortably, but laughs none the less.
****
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