Sunday, February 21, 2010

best films: #66: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006)

Previously ranked and blogged at #45
Thanks to a great ensemble indie cast and a delightful little script, Little Miss Sunshine is an enduring comedy that sets itself apart from the seemingly endless flow of quirky Sundance fare of late. With a typically comical Steve Carell as the unstable uncle, an always-wonderful Toni Collette as the well-meaning mom, a surprisingly poised performance from little Abigail Breslin as the pageant-queen daughter Olive, an obnoxiously perky Greg Kinnear as the motivational speaker dad, a moody Paul Dano as the self-muted brother, and a top-form Alan Arkin as the foul-mouthed grandpa, it's a wonderful ensemble. It was a well-deserved entrant in the Academy Awards running in 2006, though it seemed its acting should've been more noted by awards groups. Now there's just the matter of getting screenwriter Michael Arndt to work more often. At least he's got Toy Story 3 coming up.

Standout Performance: Though it was Arkin who managed to Oscar win, it was Breslin's Rick James dance routine that stole the show, in one of filmdom's future iconic scenes.

4 comments:

Simon said...

Abigail Breslin is adorable in this. I especially liked Paul Dano's silent-but-deadly like performance.

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

I was thinking about this movie the other day and got all sad thinking how much Breslin has grown up.
Not that I have anything against adults lol but she was so cute in this movie.
I think a million child actors envy her ability to look so natural onscreen.

Andrew K. said...

Paul Damp stole the show for me, followed by Collette...but they were all quite marvellous.

Andrew K. said...

Okay...Paul DANO. Yeesh, what is up with me tonight?