More about this DVD  •  DVD Info  •  Movie Main Page  •  Message Board

My view of luck has always been Gaussian.  Good fortune seems to be distributed among us on a Normal Curve.  Most of us find ourselves within that vast hump in the middle, enjoying some triumphs and coping with a few defeats.  A very few people at one end of the scale seem to have it all: fulfillment, loving relationships, happiness, success, good looks, affluence . . . And a few hapless souls on the other end of the scale can never catch a break.  They seem doomed to suffer, never quite able to lift themselves out of a life of failure and quiet despair.  I can’t imagine what life experiences motivated screenwriter Michael Arndt to torture the Hoover family at the center of this dark comedy.

I’m aware that this film garnered critical acclaim, and I even noticed that the IMDb lists the film as number 223 on its list of top 250 films.  But my reaction was a little different.  In the first couple of acts, I enjoyed a few laughs, but ultimately the film made me squirm with discomfort.  I guess I don’t find hardship and humiliation funny.

Richard (Greg Kinnear), the father of two, has created a life affirming system of beliefs and advice he hope to leverage into a profitable franchise.  His wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette) tries to be as supportive as possible, but she works for modest wages in an attempt to keep the family afloat.  Her life just got more complicated; her bother, the suicidal, depressed Frank (Steve Carell) has just been released into her custody.  She brings him home and installs him in her son’s room, since he can no longer be trusted to be alone.  Son Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a bizarre vow of silence related to his ambition of becoming a jet pilot; with a hangdog face and sullen demeanor, he isn’t exactly the poster child for his dad’s uplifting life system.  Also living with the family is Grandpa (Alan Arkin), tart of tongue and addicted to drugs and pornography. 

The youngest is Olive (Abigail Breslin); she dreams of winning the Little Miss Sunshine Competition, one of many “beauty contests” for the all too young.  Physically, she’s a long shot; this isn’t a Jon Bene Ramsey, blond and pretty and slender.  Olive is a more typical youngster with the immature barrel shape of a child, glasses, and without sophistication.  In other words, she’s quite normal.  But she has a secret weapon.  Her Grandpa has choreographed her talent routine and has been rehearsing her every move.  So when the call comes that she’s been accepted to compete, the family must make a hard decision: embark on a road trip they can’t afford or break Olive’s heart.  It comes as no surprise that the family reluctantly opts to keep Olive’s heart intact.  What follows is a remarkably quirky trip during which each member of the family experiences a life changing story arc.

I’m conflicted.  The humor is based exclusively on pain and suffering.  Had the characters been less sympathetic, had they been more loathsome, had the filmmakers not provoked viewer empathy, I think I would have enjoyed the comic suffering more.  But the performers’ abilities to evoke a strong reaction is indicative of the skills both onscreen and off.  I recognize the fine performances and the imaginative writing, but perhaps the performances, as outrageously quirky as they are, are simply too realistic.  I found that by the closing credits, the squirm factor was simply too high for my peculiar tastes.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 is presented in a rather soft anamorphic video transfer.  Both small object details and finely grained textures are suppressed.  But the most egregious problem is the presence of a full cycle of intrusive edge halos.  Chroma accuracy based on skin tones is rather nice.  And the flamboyant colors of the youngsters’ competition costumes are painted vividly to the screen.  Video dynamic range is fine, with no noticeable crush on either end of the dynamic range.  Shadow detail in the few nighttime scenes and the folds of dark clothing are conveyed well.  Unfortunately, the overall impression is a bit messy.

A second side holds a pan & scan fullscreen transfer.  I was surprised to notice that on this disc and on My Super Ex-girlfriend, the widescreen transfer is on side B rather than side A.  With the advent of Blu-ray Disc with its inherent widescreen format, has 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment made the decision to subtlety indulge 4:3 display owners?  I didn’t bother to sample the P&S transfer.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track could just as easily been in stereo.  This is a dialog-driven film and the sound designers focused on the front channels.  Sound effects do not draw attention to themselves; they merely serve the onscreen action.  Exceptionally deep bass is neither present nor missed.  Perhaps the only bottom end action comes from the score by Mychael Danna.  If there were any surround effects, they completely escaped my attention.  The critical dialog remains distortion- free throughout.

The alternate language is in Spanish, presented in Dolby Surround 2.0.  Optional subtitles are in Spanish, French, and English, for which Closed Captions are included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The supplements are spread between the two sides, with only the two commentaries duplicated.  The first commentary is by directors and spouses Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.  If this commentary is any yardstick, the couple has both a successful marriage and a successful career.  Little Miss Sunshine is their first feature film; their body of work is dominated by music videos and musical documentaries.  They then refined their directorial skills with episodes of television series.  In the commentary we learn quite a bit about their senses of humor and how they related to the characters and situations in the film.  They discuss the usual topics, such as casting, working with their actors, the rehearsal process, collaboration, location shooting, artistic decisions . . . I’m grateful that they didn’t narrate the film or speak of obvious character motivations.  In the second commentary, they are joined by screenwriter Michael Arndt to discuss the evolution of the script, the actors’ contributions, how the film evolved during the shoot, and the writer’s intent as he structured the story arcs and characters.

You’ll find four alternate endings with optional commentary by the directors.  I must agree with their decision that none are consistent with the tone of the film.  Perhaps that’s why I got a chuckle or two from them.

There is a disposable music video of “Till the End of Time” performed by DeVotchka to help support the soundtrack CD.  And you’ll find a few Fox trailers.

The 103-minute film is organized into twenty-four chapters

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

None are included on this disc.