"Little Miss Sunshine" by a Knockout!!

Review by Bryce Zabel 

The Producers Guild of America has just annoited "Little Miss Sunshine" as the Best Picture of the year. As he should, producer Marc Turtletaub singled out the screenplay by Michael Arndt:

...recalling that he'd read it five years ago as he was trying to move into producing features. Key in convincing him to back the project was the scene in which the grandfather advised his grandson to have sex with a lot of women -- "I mean, like a thousand."

That, of course, got a big laugh in the theaters but so did a hundred other lines. The acting was impeccable, and the film just works. In my MOVIE SMACKDOWN review I called it "the best picture I have seen all year. Period." I concluded with "GO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW."

Here's that original Smackdown in tribute to a great, great film.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) -vs- Transamerica (2005)

The Smackdown. Our two films are both indie staples, the road picture with mis-matched travelers -- last year's "Transamerica" was the drama and this year's "Little Miss Sunshine" is the comedy. I just got around to "Transamerica" at the beginning of the month in a La Jolla hotel room where they charged us $15 but it was still worth it. And "Little Miss Sunshine" was a film we unexpectedly saw in Santa Barbara a weekend visit after turning the corner at the outdoor mall and seeing it up on the marquee and just walking in. It, too, was well worth it.

"Horny old man, mute teen, lovable kid, suicidal gay, bitter wife, desperate husband... check..."

The Challenger. "Little Miss Sunshine" is a dysfunctional family road movie about a group of almost stock comic characters who set off from Albuquerque for Redondo Beach to get the youngest member to a kiddie beauty pageant. But all of the characters come off as original. It's a sweet-tempered film but it is also insanely funny. People were laughing out loud often in the theater I saw it in and we all applauded when it was over. This is a great film.

"Okay, so you're a woman playing a man who wants to be a woman. That is so insanely indie!"

The Defending Champion. "Transamerica" is basically a buddy-comedy road trip. The twist is that Felicity Huffman's character Bree is a preoperative male-to-female transsexual who is one nip-and-tuck away from full womanhood when she discovers that as a man she fathered a child who is now a teenager and desperately in need of a little parenting. The reason I only saw this last week is that, despite its Oscar nomination for Huffman, this just wasn't material I had to see. But sitting in that hotel room last week, watching it with my wife and daughter, all of us were surprised at how pulled into it we were. Of course, the three of us watching also meant the pro-rated cost was five bucks and that felt good, too.

The Scorecard. "Transamerica" succeeds because it makes these two extreme characters feel very human and you do start to root for them to get it together and turn out alright. "Little Miss Sunshine" is about characters who are normal enough on the surface, but all have problems, problems that get worse for them during the film, but they still pull through individually and collectively. Both of these road trips are worth taking, and they both have a lot of heart.

The Decision. This one is a knock-out and the winner is "Little Miss Sunshine." In my view, this is the best film I have seen all year, period. You need to find out where it's playing in your area, seek it out and go see it as soon as possible. I'll venture another prediction here. "Little Miss Sunshine" will be this year's "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." It is genuinely funny, you care about the people, it's a wonderful script and the actors are pitch perfect. Let's review: GO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW.