Little Miss Sunshine

A great mixture of comedy and drama about a very quirky family. The dad comes across as a real jerk, Peggy Bundy is an excellent cook compared to the mom, the grandpa is a heroin addict, the uncle a suicidal homosexual, and the kids follow their peculiar dreams. Against all odds, this near-dysfunctional family is brought together as they take chubby little Olive to a beauty pageant. I enjoyed the trip to California, Grandpa's awesome one-liners were the highlight of the car conversations, and even "mute" Dwayne was great. It was just becoming increasingly obvious what Olive's talent performance would be like. I found the beauty pageant itself a little baffling, suddenly there were all these little Terminators everywhere and I was surprised to find Olivia's performance the least creepy. Steve Carell played probably the most serious character in this film, and dmittedly, he was very good. I had a great time watching the film. (01/17/2018)

Funny, intelligent, pleasantly paced, well acted, and scored with a magnificent soundtrack. While being an indie, it is accessible to everyone. In addition, it has a large dose of gradually built up sympathy for the individual characters, so in the end you care about them and have a hard time saying goodbye to them... Everything is as it should be and, moreover, in above-standard quality. UPDATE: After Little Miss Sunshine, you will be left with such a great feeling of well-being for much longer than after seeing any other picture recently, and the second viewing has the same effect. That's why I'm adding another *. (11/05/2006)

A similar "sensation" as, for example, Sideways. Meaning a slightly bitter in places, but mostly reliable comedy, where either love adventures or family troubles are dealt with. The filmmakers cannot be denied a flair for situational humour and solid dialogue, as well as well-drawn characters, mostly well acted. It’s nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary for the genre, but it delivers solid entertainment with one American redneck family. (04/20/2023)

A charming tragicomedy built on brilliant characters, an unconventional soundtrack, and some very emotional scenes. Basically, it's a kind of unassuming ode to life's losers, demonstrating in a very appealing way the contrast between the so-called "better or higher social class" and the "lower or worse social class". At the same time, it does not portray the "objectively weaker" as some kind of victims or inferior beings. Instead Little Miss Sunshine poignantly shows how, in such families so often faced with existential problems, there comes a certain point when its members become so much more capable of understanding each other and can stick together at the right moment. The final dance number is absolutely fabulous and captures in the truest sense what is called "the art of bringing down even the most deeply rooted conventions". (02/22/2015)

Once every few years it happens that an inconspicuous film unexpectedly hits a golden vein in the form of great audience interest and favourable critical response, but at the same time the buzz and the aura of "wonderful comedy" created around it far outweighs its real value. Recent examples include My Big Fat Greek Wedding and now Little Miss Sunshine, the most overrated comedy of recent years. A pleasantly tedious 97 minutes, with completely banal humour, a few blatant constructs (the somewhat belated discovery of colour blindness) and one of the most incomprehensible Oscar nominations for Alan Arkin as a cackling grandfather. An over-hyped affair that will certainly not become a classic in the future. The dance of the cute Abigail Breslin won’t save it. (02/25/2007)