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Little Miss SunshineDirector: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Far from being just any other road trip movie, Little Miss Sunshine is effortlessly one of the best DVDs you’ll see this year. Few comedies are truly funny these days, but this film hits the spot and more. Admittedly, the plot of a family setting off across the country in a rundown combie van to get their daughter, Olive, to a talent quest, sounds of limited appeal – but an excellent script and superb acting elevates this into the top bracket of 2007. Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear put in typically strong performances, but they are overshadowed by the young Abigail Breslin, as Olive, and veteran Alan Arkin as Grandpa - a seedy old man, except when it comes to caring for his granddaughter. Only Grandpa allocates time to choreograph Olive’s dance routines and the film is all the better for it. The surprise performance, however, comes from Steve Carrell, as the suicidal uncle Frank. Carrell is best known for his starring role in the woeful American version of the luminous BBC television series The Office. I refused to watch The 40 year-old Virgin because it starred Carrell, but his profoundly depressed Frank is outstanding in this film. Don’t be mistaken into believing Little Miss Sunshine is a laugh a minute, slapstick comedy. At times it is solemn and poignant, but the clever way the film deals with the difficult issues that many families face – experiences we are not supposed to find funny – will get you laughing. It’s a movie the whole family can watch together and leave no-one disappointed. Verbatim: In a word: Excellent
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