Little Miss Sunshine (2006, USA)

Little Miss Sunshine has generated a great deal of praise, both critically and by word-of-mouth, since arriving at Sundance last year. Unfortunately, being the most buzzed-about movie at Sundance is no longer a sure thing, and Sunshine is a perfect example. While entertaining, and awfully sweet, with some good jokes and strong acting, as a whole it lacks any real impact.

Sunshine’s central problem is the characters – though played better than could be expected by an ensemble of very good actors, the writing is terribly flat. Not a single member of this family is a character so much as a compendium of tics and unusual traits. They’re not caricatures – they’re too oddball to be caricatures – but the effect amounts to the same thing, making any emotional connection difficult, if not impossible. For a film that attempts to suture a family in crisis, this lack of feeling is an impossible hurdle to jump. Combine this with generally muddled writing and an ending that feels premature, and it’s difficult to get anything of note out of Sunshine. However, it’s certainly not hard to enjoy on a surface level – when the actors are allowed some room, such as in the hilarious exchange on sarcasm between Steve Carell and Greg Kinnear, the movie comes to life. The same is true of some of the setpieces, particularly the running gags about the family’s broken-down Volkswagon bus. Unfortunately, these moments aren't enough to fill the emptiness at the center of the film.

I’ve heard comparisons of Sunshine to Wes Anderson’s movies, and while the talented ensemble cast and general affection for oddity may connect to The Royal Tenenbaums, the stylization of the downwardly mobile lower-middle-class family feels much more like the films of Todd Solondz, particularly Welcome to the Dollhouse (placing a homely little girl at the center of the action doesn't hurt, either). Thankfully, Sunshine’s directors don’t dislike their characters as actively as Solondz does his, and as their nasty streak doesn’t reach as deeply, Sunshine comes off feeling rather light, if inconsequential.