Plot: What’s it about?
I have to admit that I’d never really heard of “Little Miss Sunshine” until I saw Entertainment Weekly do a cover story on the film last Summer. I don’t really make it out to the theaters that much so I decided to wait for it to come to DVD. It arrived and I figured I’d pop it in the ‘ol player and see what all of the fuss was about. Well…it’s certainly unique, that’s for sure. I also saw where Entertainment Weekly did a review of the DVD and they named some of the other “Road Trip” movies that were worth watching as well. One of those was “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, a movie that I think shares more than just a few things with this movie. In fact, so many that it’s almost eerie. With that said, “Little Miss Sunshine” works mainly because of the six lead actors. Each great in their own ways, they’re what makes the film work. Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear are reserved in their roles, Alan Arkin is way out front and nearly over the top. And this leaves the two younger actors to really set the way and steal the show. Both do and suffice it to say that the journey is worth the watch.
We first meet the main characters in their respective environments. Frank (Steve Carell) has just unsuccessfully attempted suicide after expressing his love for one of his male graduate students. Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a motivational speaker with the right ideas, but not the audience to make them work. Grandpa (Alan Arkin) is an eccentric retiree who has taken to snorting heroin to pass the time. Sheryl (Toni Collette) is the mother of Dwayne (Paul Dano) and Olive (Abigail Breslin). Dwayne has taken a vow of silence until he successfully enters the Air Force Academy so that he can become a pilot. And Olive is the constantly upbeat dreamer who learns that she now has a slot in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California. The family drops everything to make the voyage from Albuquerque to Redondo Beach so that Olive can compete and the majority of the film takes place along the way. Some rather unexpected things happen along the way and I won’t divulge what those are but let’s just say that by the time they arrive at the pageant, you’re really rooting for them! A movie that caught me (and others) by surprise, I wouldn’t be too phased if an Oscar nomination or two came out of the movie.
Video: How does it look?
Fox has done something that a lot of other studios just don’t (or won’t) do anymore. Yep. They put a full-frame and a widescreen version of the same movie on the same disc. Amazing, isn’t it? The 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer is fairly good and the bright outdoorsy shots look great. I noticed a bit of edge enhancement during a few scenes, but nothing too bad. Flesh tones looked to be on par and I noticed no signs of artifacting. There are lots of stretching shots of the New Mexico desert and the great outdoors looks pretty great indeed here.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack isn’t one of the most powerful out there, but it does serve its purpose. The quirky music played throughout perfectly compliments the movie, and I’m hard-pressed to actually describe how it sounds. Dialogue is very clear and clean as well. Surrounds are used sparingly but do pop in occasionally to make their presence known. The disc contains a Dolby Surround track as well, should you not want the entire 5.1 experience.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The disc contains a fair amount of supplements, notably two commentary tracks. I listened to both but have to say that the first track with the directors and writer was the one that made the most sense. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris seem to really work well together and their constant jabbing on the track made it one of the more lively I’ve heard in a while. There are four alternate endings as well, though they’re only located on one side of the disc. As much as I like having two versions of the movie on one disc, I feel the supplements should be the same on both sides and not force the viewer to search for the extras. That said, the endings are fairly different from one another and I feel they chose the right one. All are available with or without commentary by the directors. A music video and some trailers round out the supplements.
