Product Details

• Actors: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano
• Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
• Writers: Michael Arndt
• Producers: Marc Turtletaub, Albert Berger, Bart Lipton, David T. Friendly, Jeb Brody
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: February 3, 2009
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (529 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001JNNDDI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,209 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Pile together a blue-ribbon cast, a screenplay high in quirkiness, and the Sundance stamp of approval, and you've got yourself a crossover indie hit. That formula worked for Little Miss Sunshine, a frequently hilarious study of family dysfunction. Meet the Hoovers, an Albuquerque clan riddled with depression, hostility, and the tattered remnants of the American Dream; despite their flakiness, they manage to pile into a VW van for a weekend trek to L.A. in order to get moppet daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) into the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Much of the pleasure of this journey comes from watching some skillful comic actors doing their thing: Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette as the parents (he's hoping to become a self-help authority), Alan Arkin as a grandfather all too willing to give uproariously inappropriate advice to a sullen teenage grandson (Paul Dano), and a subdued Steve Carell as a jilted gay professor on the verge of suicide. The film is a crowd-pleaser, and if anything is a little too eager to bend itself in the direction of quirk-loving Sundance audiences; it can feel forced. But the breezy momentum and the ingenious actors help push the material over any bumps in the road.-- Robert Horton

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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 02/03/2009 Run time: 123 minutes Rating: R

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

189 of 216 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ambivalent ties that bind, August 7, 2006

By	Cinephiliac (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

If you have ever attended a family reunion or sat down at an extended family holiday dinner and thought to yourself "Who are these people? How could I possibly be related to them?" -- then you will probably appreciate the hilarious and poignant indie film "Little Miss Sunshine."

Richard (Greg Kinnear) is the head of a mostly dysfunctional family and the author of a multi-step/self-help program that he espouses with the passion of a zealot. Sheryl (Toni Collette) is Richard's wife and arguably the most normal and high-functioning member of the family. Their son, Dwayne (Paul Dano), is a nihilistic and remote 15-year-old, who has either stopped speaking to his family because he can't stand them or taken a vow of silence to achieve a personal goal - depending on who is explaining his behavior. Olive (Abigail Breslin) is the family's bright and effervescent 7-year-old, who is already starting to pick up some of the family's more unhealthy tics of criticism and self-doubt. Grandpa (Alan Arkin) is Richard's acerbic and outspoken father who was booted out of his retirement home for snorting heroin. Add to this murky Freudian soup Sheryl's brother, Frank (a wonderfully restrained Steve Carell), who is newly released from the hospital after a failed suicide attempt.

When a message is left on the family's phone machine notifying them of Olive's acceptance into the semi-finals of the Little Miss Sunshine talent competition in California, they decide to (mostly) put aside their personal agendas and take Olive to the pageant. The combustible road trip is fueled by the radically different personalities bumping up against each other within the close confines of a VW bus and exacerbated by a variety of obstacles thrown at them in what seems to be a cosmic conspiracy designed to prevent the family from reaching the competition.

When the family finally does arrive at the pageant, the weirdness well and truly begins. Now I am someone who really loves a good horror story, but the 6 and 7 year old contestants were far scarier than anything you might see in a George Romero movie. I will take flesh melting zombies over little girls in full theatrical makeup and provocative costumes (that just screamed "JonBenet Ramsey") any day. The whole pageant atmosphere was Fellini-esque and completely cringe-inducing. When Olive is finally called upon to do her performance piece for the audience (a real show stopper which I won't spoil by detailing), she is actually the most wholesome and entertaining part of the whole pageant.

Although this family bickers with one another almost constantly, they manage to close ranks and support each other when it truly counts. Part of the pleasure of watching this film was the talented cast, who looked like they were really enjoying themselves. A wonderful way to spend 90 minutes -- and you will probably come away with a deeper appreciation of your own family.

117 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dysfuction at it's finest, September 24, 2006

By	J. Abercrombi (Honolulu) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Little Miss Sunshine" is the story of the Hoover Family. Olive (played by the adorable and very funny Abigail Breslin) has just been accepted into the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant (because of a cancellation) and her family decides to drive through three states so she can make the competition on time. Richard Hoover (played by former Talk Soup host, Greg Kinnear) is Oliver's dad who believes that winning is number one. When Richard tells poor Olive that she shouldn't eat ice-cream (because there aren't any fat Miss America contestants) I thought it was both extremely funny and also equally sad.

Paul Dano played Olive's (very comical) morbidly hate-filled brother, Dwayne. Alan Arkin played the coke-snorting, sex-crazy grandfather. Toni Collette was the kids' mom Sheryl; it was obvious that Sheryl was wrapped way too tight but she really did love her family. And rounding out this ensemble cast is Uncle Frank (played by "Forty Year Old Virgin" star Steve Carell.) Frank came to stay with Sheryl and her family after he recently tried to commit suicide after his homosexual love of interest rejected him.

So the family embarks on a car trip across NV, AZ, and CA in a broken down, old 70's bus (they have to push it to get it started!)

There are so many funny moments in this picture. It was also touching to see Olive put her head on her brother's shoulder to try to cheer him up, and I did suspect at that moment that Dwayne actually didn't hate everyone because he seemed so sensitive.

Anyone that watches this picture will certainly agree that Olive's dance routine was the hit of the entire movie. Olive dances to the tune of the Rick James hit "Super Freak" while prudish Pageant Official Jenkins (played perfectly by one-time "Malcolm In The Middle" star Beth Grant) goes absolutely BERSERK! I don't want to give anything away, but the entire family was involved, a huge scene resulted, and the police were even called!

After watching the first thirty minutes of this movie I thought to myself, "why are these people all together..." ...But I suppose family is whatever you make of it and the Hoover family must have really loved each other to go through all they did and still stay together. Maybe they don't make the same decisions as the "traditional American family" but that's ok because they still find their own happiness.

I reluctantly went to go see this movie after a friend told me how good it was. I protested because it looked totally ridiculous but my friend had already seen it and he insisted that it was a superior picture. And I am so glad that I went because this was one of the best movies I have seen in months. It is dysfunction at it's funniest!

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Quirk Works--Don't Buy The "Sunshine" Hype, Discover It For Yourself, November 13, 2006

By	K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Little Miss Sunshine (DVD)

"Little Miss Sunshine" is yet another quirky indie comedy, this time about a dysfunctional family roadtrip. Every character has the requisite wacky personality and/or oddball mannerisms (as is the case in every film of this type). The plot is minimal and contrived, existing for the sole purpose of forcing this unlikely family together. Handled incorrectly, I would usually loathe this type of film. So I'm pleased to report that "Little Miss Sunshine" is far more successful than it has any right to be. While I still feel as if this "little" picture was slightly overpraised upon it's release, it provides many laughs and works as screwball comedy.

One thing that sets "Sunshine" apart from similar indies is a stellar cast. Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette do fine work as the embattled parents. Abigail Breslin brings a refreshing blend of hope and delusion to the title character. Alan Arkin chews the scenery as the foul mouthed addict father--it's nice to see him again, especially in such a showy in-your-face performance. Steve Carell is surprisingly sympathetic as the depressive gay brother. And Paul Dano delivers the movie's best performance as the disconnected son who has taken a vow of silence. So even though this colorful, supremely eccentric bunch are character "types" as opposed to real people, the actors make it work. The moments of drama that appear succeed only because the actors make you care.

But, first and foremost, this is a comedy. And I forgave the calculated eccentricities because the film is simply funny. Outrageous and slapstick, yet smartly observant, this film earns your respect and laughs. It's a fun ride with many identifiable situations.

Beloved by audiences and most critics upon it's release, I would hesitate to overhype this film for the DVD market. A viewer who discovers this picture is likely to appreciate it's charms more than someone who goes into it having heard it's the best film of the year. "Little Miss Sunshine" is not particularly original (it shares many plot elements from "Vacation," in fact)--but it is extremely well done. KGHarris, 11/06.