Little Miss Sunshine

Posted by Ajit on September 18, 2006.

I just got back from watching a matinee of Little Miss Sunshine at my local art theater. Why this movie is not the biggest comedy hit makes no friggin’ sense to me. Not that it is your typical mainstream movie or anything but this is a great movie that people need to see and also because it is entertaining. I laughed or cried the entire way through.

How much do I like it? My favorite American indie comedy is Bottle Rocket which I have watched too many times to count. But right now if I had to pick a comedy to take with me to a lonely island, I’d be hard pressed to choose anything but Little Miss Sunshine.

The title fools people into thinking this is a sweet little comedy about cute little girls and cute little jokes. It isn’t. This film is about the middle class struggle — not the clean and smooth kind like American Beauty but the sad, pathetic, nasty and also glorious. Greg Kinnear’s father figure is something anyone can see in their own fathers (or Mothers). Someone they loathe and yet admire secretly. Someone unrelenting in being obnoxious, ambitious, foolish, optimistic losers. I see so much of myself in Kinnear’s father character — optimism in the face of constant failure. And you optimists will also see the same.

The family in the movie consists of losers, with none of them who truly are. They want the mainstream, they want success, a fair shake. They never get there but the struggle to reach is a party in itself. The struggle is everything.

I think one of the reasons why I have been able to watch Bottle Rocket so many times is that the characters are so endearing. The same is true for Little Miss Sunshine. I am itching to see it again. I cannot wait to get my hands on that DVD. This movie was released in July so hopefully it is coming out any day now.

Go see it

Watch the trailer

Weird short on the “Bus” (people who have seen the movie will somewhat get this)