The Hoovers inhabit New Mexico in a small ranch-style home that houses their unbalanced lives. There's Richard (Greg Kinnear) only out for success -- he even came up with "The Nine Steps for Success" which he pitched to a publisher -- and won't accept anything less from his family. There's mother Sheryl (Toni Collette) who's worried about taking care of her family and tries to tone down anything Richard says. Her brother, Frank (Steve Carell), has come to live with them after he attempted suicide after a relationship didn't work out the way he planned.
There are the children, Dwayne and Olive (Paul Dano and Abigail Breslin). Dwayne, a follower of Nietzsche, has taken a vow of silence which he won't break until he gets into the Air Force Academy. And there's awkward youngster, Olive, with glasses too big for her face practicing for a beauty pageant with her grandfather (Alan Arkin) acting as her choreographer.
Olive gets a call saying she's made it into the finals for the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, Calif. Thus, the family decides to road trip it in their VW Bus to get her to the limelight. On the way, they encounter vehicle problems, death, disappoints and everything that makes a family road trip memorable.
In their first feature length movie, husband and wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris direct an all-star cast that draws on the wonderful script perfectly all the while making the audience fall in love with this obviously abnormal family.
The trip the Hoovers take in their broken VW bus -- which requires the family to push it and jump in because the clutch doesn't work -- will probably dredge up memories for viewers of road trips they took with their own family. It's hard to believe, however, the any road trip is as problematic as the one in "Little Miss Sunshine."
"Little Miss Sunshine" also takes a stab at the sometimes questionable practices of beauty pageants with little girls as the centerpiece. Olive stands out as the ugly duckling amidst the glammed up -- some may say whored-up -- contestants. When Olive dances for the talent portion of the competition, the pageant turns against her. Her dancing is declared deplorable, although it's not as disturbing as the pageant itself; it's more embarrassing than anything.
Of course, the standout actor is Carell. He's made a name for himself as the guy from "The Office" and he's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," but with his role as Frank in "Little Miss Sunshine" he shows he doesn't always need to be the comedian. He's a true actor with depth and range.
"Little Miss Sunshine" is the perfect summer movie. It's one that you'll want to see more than once it's so good.
"Little Miss Sunshine" opens at the Oriental Theatre Friday, Aug. 11.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
