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Reviews Counted:197
Fresh:178
Rotten:19
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: What happens when you stuff a failed motivation speaker, his wife, the nation's number one Proust scholar, an elderly potty-mouthed heroin addict, a teen who’s mute by choice, and a bespectacled little pageant hopeful into a mini VW bus for a three day road trip? You get this hilarious but moving satire about a dysfunctional family obsessed with winning. Credit must go to the ensemble cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, and Abigail Breslin and the delightfully funny script by Michael Arndt, which first-time directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris handled perfectly.
Theatrical Release:08-09-2006
Synopsis: "Little Miss Sunshine" is an American family road comedy that shatters the mold. Brazenly satirical and yet deeply human, the film introduces audiences to one of the most endearingly fractured... [More]
Starring: Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin
Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
To the extent that Little Miss Sunshine works, and you probably gather that its schematic cartoonishness didn't always work for me, it is because directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris genuinely like these people.
So winning, it's easy to forgive it for its too-sunny outlook on dysfunction.
It's difficult to convey the sheer joy of watching these characters interact.
This is truly one of those "fun for the whole family" type of things, despite the fact that they say "****" all the time, which makes this an R instead of a PG like it should be. Take the kids anyway.
entertains across socio-intellectual boundaries and runs a Chaplinesque gamut
Someone once said that comedy is a tragedy that happens to someone else and this movie demonstrates that theory to perfection.
The 25-minute setup is truly excruciating. However, once you make it through the first half hour the film is relatively entertaining.
The exceptional cast, solid directing and a briskly paced story help to raise it to the level of one of the best comedies of the summer.
It's got a little bit for everyone, an easily identifiable premise that makes anyone who thought their family was the nuttiest feel a little closer to normal.
It's got more style than all the competitors at the Little Miss pageant. It's like a refreshing cool breeze in the stagnant summer season of movies that are okay, but not spectacular.
The kiddie beauty pageant replays all the lessons that have come before: Such competitions are superficial, and displays of love come in all shapes.
A Sundance-tested slice of American Domestic Dysfunction proving, once again, that no matter what Tolstoy said, sometimes unhappy families are unhappy in very familiar ways.
It may appear to be another insignificant Sundance offering on the outside, but Little Miss Sunshine is an enchanting, rewarding picture that should not be passed over.
Consistently fresh and gut-bustingly funny.
Top CriticA liberating little ode to dysfunctional family unity and nonconformity that may occasionally make you cringe, but will ultimately touch your heart.
an expertly made comedy with a cast firing on all cylinders and a fireworks display of an ending.
A raucously entertaining slice of slapstick dressed up as domestic satire.
Pulls off the trick of the feel-good movie in a way movies haven't managed in a long time. [Blu-ray]
It helps to have a cast stocked with ringers with the chops to play comedy as drama and drama as comedy.
...the laughs build as it progresses, as does our affection for the characters.
March 17, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Greg Kinnear
How do you describe the career of a guy who started as the host of Talk Soup on E! and within five years was Oscar nominated for a role opposite Jack Nicholson? Greg Kinnear is... More...
April 22, 2008:
Exclusive: RT Visits the Set of Three and Out
We wrap up warm for a London-based night shoot in Winter on the set of a new black comedy starring Mackenzie Crook, More...
February 14, 2008:
Abigail Breslin Is My Sister's Keeper
The Fanning sisters may have exited Nick Cassavetes' My Sister's Keeper, but the New Line drama is still moving full steam ahead. More...
August 30, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Halloween Strikes on the 31st
The four-billion-dollar-plus summer comes to a close over the long Labor Day holiday weekend with three new wide releases all targeting male moviegoers. Slasher fans get to... More...
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