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Little Miss Sunshine

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Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

92%
90%
92%
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92 %
Reviews Counted: 189 Fresh: 173  Rotten:16 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.
 

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Runtime: 3 hrs 2 mins

Theatrical Release: Jul 26, 2006 Limited

Box Office: $59,831,476

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 families in recent cinema history: the Hoovers, whose trip to a pre-pubescent beauty pageant... "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 families in recent cinema history: the Hoovers, whose trip to a pre-pubescent beauty pageant results not only in comic mayhem but in death, transformation and a moving look at the surprising rewards of being losers in a winning-crazed culture. A runaway hit at the Sundance Film Festival, where it played to standing ovations, the film strikes a nerve with everyone who's ever been awestruck by how their muddled families seem to make it after all. No one among the Hoovers quite has it together, but it's not for lack of trying. Father Richard (GREG KINNEAR), a hopelessly optimistic motivational speaker, is desperately attempting to sell his 9-step program for success -- without much success. Meanwhile, the Hoovers' "pro-honesty" mother Sheryl (TONI COLLETTE) is constantly harried by her family's eccentric secrets, especially those of her brother (STEVE CARELL), a suicidal Proust scholar fresh out of the hospital after being jilted by his gay lover. Then there are the younger Hoovers with their unlikely dreams -- the four-eyed, slightly plump, seven year-old would-be beauty queen Olive (ABIGAIL BRESLIN) and Dwayne (PAUL DANO), an anger-fueled, Nietzsche-reading teen who has taken a staunch vow of silence until he gets into the Air Force Academy. Topping off the family is the grandfather (ALAN ARKIN), a foul-mouthed pleasure-seeker recently kicked out of his retirement home for snorting heroin. They might not be the picture of perfect mental health, but when a fluke gets Olive invited to compete in the fiercely competitive "Little Miss Sunshine" competition in California, the whole Hoover family rallies behind her. They pile into their rusted-out VW bus and head West on a three-day tragicomic journey filled with madcap surprises and leading up to Olive's big debut -- which will change the entire misfit family in ways they could never imagine. "Little Miss Sunshine" features the directorial debut of renowned music video directors (and husband-and-wife team) Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who direct from a script by Michael Arndt. The film is produced by Big Beach and Bona Fide Productions, with Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly and Peter Saraf serving as producers, and Jeb Brody and Michael Beugg as executive producers. The production team includes director of photography Tim Suhrstedt, production designer Kalina Ivanov, costume designer Nancy Steiner, editor Pamela Martin, composer Mychael Danna and the up-and-coming band DeVotchka. -- © Fox Searchlight Pictures [More]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin

Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Screenwriter: Michael Arndt
Producer: Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa
Composer: Mychael Danna

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 4, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Dual Side - Single Layer

Audio:

  • Dolby Surround 5.1 - English
  • Dolby Surround - Spanish - Optional
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish, French - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris - Directors; Michael Arndt - Writer
  • Deleted Scenes - Alternate Endings
  • Music Video - "Till the End of Time" - DeVotchka
  • Trailers

Disc 1/Side A:

  • Full Frame - 1.33

Disc 1/Side B:

  • Widescreen - 2.35

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image
3/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image
3.5/5

The chaotic dinner scene pops like syncopated jazz, setting the tone for a warm, funny film that has more smiles than belly laughs.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/08/08
Robert Davis
Paste Magazine
Ratings Image
4/5

Accumulates depth and fleshes out its characters.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/11/08
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
9/10

Charming, moving, warm and brilliantly hysterical, Little Miss Sunshine is easily the funniest thing I have seen in a theater in years.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com
Ratings Image
N/A

A cheap Sisyphean metaphor literally drives the thing: at first played for laughs, it's recycled to the point of nausea.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
02/01/08
Karina Longworth
Cinematical
Ratings Image
3.5/4

A hilariously caustic package that makes its ultimate uplift genuinely feel-good instead of insufferably saccharine.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/26/07
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies
Ratings Image
4/5

a family road movie brimming with spot-on performances, hilarious situations, and plenty of good feeling - and it treats its comic characters with a rare affection.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/19/07
Anton Bitel
musicOMH.com
Ratings Image
4/4

A wonderful message movie, warts-an-all!

Full Review | comment Comment
05/25/07
Kam Williams
Upstage Magazine
Ratings Image
N/A

The film is part of an emerging trend that taps into the very real and urgent concerns of working people in increasingly pauperized Bush's America.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/22/07
Prairie Miller
WBAI Web Radio
Ratings Image
N/A

It doesn't exploit its characters for comedy or life lessons; it simply embraces the family members and lets them be themselves.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/24/07
Brian Tallerico
UGO
Ratings Image
N/A

It works better than most movies with a quirky Sundance pedigree, because the filmmakers aren't quick to paint any of their characters as morally wrong.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/15/07
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Ratings Image
N/A

Just a glorious movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/01/07
Frank Lovece
Film Journal International
Ratings Image
68/100

Royal Tenenbaums meets Malcolm in the Middle. Oh, and let's not forget Weekend at Bernie's.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/25/07
Dan Jardine
Cinemania
Ratings Image
2/6

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
02/03/07
Melissa Anderson
Time Out New York
Ratings Image
3/5

full review in Greek

Full Review | comment Comment
01/14/07
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
Ratings Image
8/10

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/04/07
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
Ratings Image
2/4

Little Miss Sunshine is an example of a very nicely done small movie about family that is content and secure enough to deliver everything in a simple, straightforward way, all while being silly and implausible.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/31/06
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com
Ratings Image
3.5/4

This film opened five weeks ago on seven screens. In the entire country. So I can understand how you may have missed it. Now that it is on more then 1400 screens, you have no excuse.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/13/06
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review
Ratings Image
5/5

Melancólico como sua bela trilha sonora, o filme oscila com talento entre a comédia e o drama enquanto seus personagens aprendem importantes lições sobre o que é realmente relevante em nossa curta passagem por este planeta.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/08/06
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image
N/A

But since this film giddily oversteps all other bounds of decorum, up to the edge of child pornography, I won't complain about the happy ending.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/11/06
Stuart Klawans
Nation
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Around the Network

• Little Miss Sunshine at Rotten Tomatoes
• Little Miss Sunshine at IGN
• Little Miss Sunshine at AskMen
 
 
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