Little Miss Sunshine: The Laugh Out Loud Comedy

Little Miss Sunshine, the laugh out loud comedy, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and written by Michael Arndt is an inspired work of comedy, acting and cinematography.

When young Olive, brilliantly played by Abigail Breslin, is flung into the "Little Miss Sunshine" pageant at the list minute, her slightly off kilter family packs into their VW Bus and heads off on a long road trip, so she can compete. Richard, Greg Kinnear's character, takes the driver's seat, in every respect. Richard treats life and his family like his 9 step program to self improvement. Paul Dano plays Olive's brother Dwayne. Dwayne has committed to a vow of silence until he can become a test pilot. Alan Arkin plays Olive's drug using, potty mouthed, sassy grandpa. Sheryl, played by Toni Collette, is the nurturing and insecure mother. Steve Carell raps up the family tree as Uncle Frank, the suicidal scholar who can't be left alone.

The writing in "Little Miss Sunshine" is a flawless work of timeless comedy with a sprinkling of ageless wit. Writer Michael Arndt drives this movie from somber to strange and right on to silly. Arndt uses all different kinds of comedy, as if he was creating a fine sauce and avoids making cinematic gruel. Each of these characters's personalities are so incredibly rich, you feel that you've known these people for years. Even more still, I felt that each of the characters is a little bit like me. It is hard to make me laugh audibly, but there was no shortage of snorts and laughter coming from me during "Little Miss Sunshine."

It's rare that an entire cast gives an equally exceptional performance but from now on we'll be able to point to "Little Miss Sunshine" as an example of just that. The more anomalous performances in a film, the exponentially better the film's quality.