Classic Revisited: Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

An entire family is forced to go on a road trip for the sake of the youngest in the family, little Olive, in her quest to be crowned "Little Miss Sunshine". They travel around 800 miles in their broken down bus and finally make it. This trip is life changing in many ways. A real roller-coaster.

Each of the family members has some USP which makes the character make a deep impact - kid Olive is mad about being a beauty queen, uncle Frank survives a suicide attempt and he is a homo, young Dwayne is on a vow of silence till he gets into flight school, grandpa Edwin is a loud mouth who doesn't mince words even before the kids in the family, father Richard loves winning and he tries to sell his 9 steps to success & mother Sheryl is caught between these characters

When the family finally makes it and Olive gets on stage for her talent round, all hell breaks loose as Olive dedicates her performance to her Grandpa. This act epitomizes everything that the old man stood for - typically loud and no holds barred. It brings the family together. There are small pearls of life lessons thrown in through the dialogs.

The soundtrack of the movie is among the best ever. It mellows you down. There is ample drama in the movie but, the sentimental strands are the highlights. Alan Arkin deservingly won the Oscar for his performance as Edwin. Such a superb and striking cameo. Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collete, Abigail Breslin and Paul Dano have put their heart and soul into the movie as well. Each of them make a mark in one scene or the other. Perfect synergy between the cast.

The movie has been directed by an husband-wife duo and was made on a shoe-string budget of a mere 8 million USD. Perfect example of 'content being king'.

VERDICT: All time classic, with ample doses of comedy, sentiment and lessons for life.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Cal has some problems in his marriage with Emily and they decide to part ways. They are married for over 25 yrs and they have 3 kids - Hannah, Robbie and Molly. Emily has an affair with her colleague David.

Just when Cal is down and out and frustrated in the nearby bar, Jacob befriends him and changes his style, looks and outlook towards women. Before long Cal starts nailing woman after woman. But, his heart still beats for his wife despite all these affairs.

Meanwhile, Jacob and Hannah fall in love. Babysitter 17 yrs old Jessica also has a secret crush on Cal while Robbie is madly in love with Jessica. There is a lot of heartache due to all these affairs and secret crushes. Finally, things are sorted out on Robbie's graduation day and it's a happy scene again.

Hits

• The scene where all the affairs and secret crushes are exposed is a real laugh riot. 
• The cool metamorphosis of Cal and the way the romance develops between Jacob and Hannah, are also well shown. 
• Ryan Gosling is a real cool hunk and a serious charmer. Well cast. Steve Carell and Julianne Moore play the elder couple with conviction. Jonah Bobo as Robbie, Analeigh Tipton as Jessica, Emma Stone as Hannah round off the main cast. A job well done by all these actors with no exceptional performance as such. 

Comments

• Quite slow moving

VERDICT

Another relationship movie that might appeal to the chicks and the romantics.