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Let the Sunshine In
It's fascinating how Steve Carell has tiptoed up from behind us to become one of the best, most versatile comedic actors of at least the last ten years: as scene stealer (in Anchorman and Bruce Almighty), leading man (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), or ensemble member in a TV show full of hilarious actors (The Daily Show, The Office), Carell has not wasted a second on screen. He can play a loud dolt, a lovable loser, or an arrogant jerk and still be funny every time. In Little Miss Sunshine, the dark, subtle, broken comedy by first-time screenwriter Michael Arndt, Carell knocks it out of the park again as Frank, a gay scholar recovering from a suicide attempt, showing that he can excel in any role.
Not that he doesn't have plenty of help. Unable to play for the medical bills associated with around-the-clock psychiatric care, Frank is dumped in the collective lap of his extended family: his sister Sheryl (Toni Collette), a matriarch who preaches honesty to her children but is frazzled by how honestly pathetic their lives are; her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear), a motivational speaker so attuned to his own nine-step program to success that he doesn't realize he's a failure; their son Dwayne (Paul Dano), who's taken a vow of silence inspired by Nietzsche until he can become a fighter pilot; and daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin), an ordinary 7-year-old who dreams to be a beauty queen. Franks floats along the outside of the family with Richard's father (Alan Arkin), a foul-mouthed heroin addict who coaches Olive in a secret technique they believe will win any pageant. The family is forced to deal with each other in closed quarters when Olive qualifies for the Little Miss Sunshine competition and the only option the cash-strapped Hoovers have is to pile into their VW bus and drive from Albuquerque to Redondo Beach, California.
Along the way, the family encounters the same problems you'd see in any other road movie: the bus's clutch is faulty and they all have to push it until Richard can safely start it in third gear, they leave Olive behind at a diner, the horn sticks, and they get pulled over by a cop who discovers Grandpa's collection of smut. But nowhere do these beats seem tired; in fact, the gag about running alongside the bus is done several times, and it doesn't even get old in the context of the movie. The jokes work because they're honest. Each serves to further break down the families barriers from each other and puts into perspective their own delusions about how normal they are, and what it mean to win in life, one of Richard's biggest obsessions.
As the Hoovers reach their psychological breaking point, the movie just gets funnier thanks to the pitch-perfect casting. Carrel, of course, is perfect, providing both the subtlety and they comedic timing necessary as Frank bewilderedly realizes he, the attempted suicide, is the most normal in the family. The adults are completely believable and, as a result, completely hilarious. Breslin shows considerable maturity to hold her own against the ensemble cast. And in perhaps the most surprising role in the film, Dano's eye-rolling and shrugs are as funny as any actor's best-timed jokes.
In a summer full of comedies that have tried entirely too hard to win over their audiences, Little Miss Sunshine is a ray of hope that understated, measured comedies can win the day. Only time will tell if it joins films like Wes Anderson's in the great halls of quirky indie flicks, but it's certainly one of this year's best.
Rating: * * * * of 5
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sjuhawk31) wrote,
