It’s Time to Shine

When Olive (Abigail Breslin) is given a place at a prestigious beauty pageant, the entire family embark on an extraordinary journey. All squashed into their rusty, old VW bus they prepare for smooth family trip. After all, with a drugged-up pensioner, a gay, suicidal uncle, a brother that never speaks and a failing life coach as a father what could possibly go wrong? With a bucket full of emotion and a barrel full of laughs this road trip turns out to be more eventful then they could have ever have imagined.

The extremes of every character create pathos. They allow us to empathize with the drama. We feel sympathy for Olive and her pursuit of normality. With such names as Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell (the-40-year-old-virgin), Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin, this is sure to be a favourite for years to come. Abigail Breslin, who also starred in Gary Marshall’s ‘Raising Helen’, has built up quite a reputation as an up and coming young actress. Little Miss Sunshine shows some of her best work yet.

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Formally known for their music videos, this directing duo, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, branch out in their first ever feature film and produce some impressive results. Having directed for The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Oasis, Macy Gray, R.E.M and The Smashing Pumpkins, these two have created quite a reputation on screen. Not only have they had years of experience with music videos but they also have many commercials and documentaries to their credit. Winning 6 MTV music awards for “Tonight Tonight” by Smashing Pumpkins and a Grammy for Janet Jackson‘s, “Rhythm Nation 1814“ ,this pair have received much international recognition.

Little Miss Sunshine, winning two Oscars and sharing the dark style of humour with such movies as Napoleon Dynamite and Juno, is sure to touch the odd, quirky side of us all. Here, the directors, successfully paint a less than ordinary portrait of family life. They manage to encompass a serious, thought-provoking message in a fun and light hearted manner. They masterfully show the plight of meaningless competition through a child’s beauty pageant.

The film took 30 days to shoot and was done so in chronological order, keeping in line with the script. Filmed in Arizona and southern California, the crew take full advantage of their beautiful surroundings and deliver some amazing cinematography. This just adds to the enchanting atmosphere of the film.

The Daily Mail calls it “The funniest comedy of the year by many a mile”. The Sunday Times  review describes it as “really special”. This is a lot more than your average, American comedy.