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Review: Little Miss Sunshine

(September 2nd, 2006 - 1:34AM)

I almost didn't recognize Steve Carell with all the facial hair.

(4.5 / 5 stars)

One sentence summary: Like Napoleon Dynamite, but not as dry.

While I was watching Litle Miss Sunshine, I couldn't help but be reminded of Napoleon Dynamite.

The two movies have a lot in common. They're both dry comedies. They both have protagonists that are kind of pathetic and make you feel sorry for them. And they both end with a dance sequence. The big difference is that Little Miss Sunshine is a lot funnier.

Napoleon Dynamite was a good movie, but the humour was so subtle that a lot of people missed it. No such mistake will be made with Little Miss Sunshine. It starts off on a depressing note, and at first I wasn't sure if this movie would be legitimately funny or would be one of those "art" comedies that's really just depressing. But it turned around quickly.

The cast did a great job, and the movie also does a great job of illustrating just how creepy child beauty pageants are. This is a movie that's sad in a lot of ways, but it's also a great movie about the importance of family during the hard times.