Movie #30 - Little Miss Sunshine

"Where's Olive?"

Simple tag-line for a witty film. To be honest, I actually didn't enjoy this movie in its entirety. This may come as a surprise, but like other Hollywood band-wagon films such as Brokeback Mountain or Philadelphia, I just didn't get on the wagon.

I liked many scenes of this movie and the casting of Steve Carell as a suicidal brother-in-law / slash crazy uncle alongside Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin was great. However, unlike most Hollywood critics and pundits alike, I actually did not care much for the acting achieved by little Abigail Breslin.

This comes back to an old theory of mine about child actors. There is a point for a child actor where a bridge is crossed between cuteness to annoyance. Let's just say, throughout this film, Breslin not only crosses that bridge, she helps build it. I do not find her role very appealing and find her acting quite annoying... tough to put that wrap on a young actress, but give me a young Sarah Polley, Drew Barrymore, Dakota Fanning, or even Lindsey Lohan and you got a more appealing young actress to cast in a role like this.

Beyond that, I enjoyed many aspects of this film. The character of Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) is desperate, something that Kinnear captures well. As an audience, you truly believe that Carell is suicidal, however, you see a little bit of Michael Scott (television - The Office) in every word of this character... maybe its just his poignant, dead-pan delivery of all lines that gets the comparison.

Either way, the premise of this movie is enjoyable - having to get to a beauty pageant across country and dealing with the various ups and downs associated with this trip. I loved the concept because it reminds movie goers about their dreaded family road-trips and how dis-functional they can be... however, in this case, this trip would win out in every retrospective comparison.

If you like Carell despite his recent case of over-exposure (or how I'd like to call it the Tommy Lee Jones syndrome) or if you dig witty Kinnear roles or if you are an avid fan of the side roles of Alan Arkin, then I suggest watching this movie. If you bought into the Hollywood propaganda of the wonderful acting of Ms. Abigail Breslin, then I hope you aren't too disappointed by the end of the movie.

In the end, enjoy the dis-functionality, its what makes movies fun to watch!

Reference: I originally published this article on Helium.com.