At first viewing, I must admit this movie didn’t do much for me. However, having watched it again recently, I wonder what I was missing…
Excellent acting all around (for my two cents, Kinnear and Carrell steal the show).
The intense family drama and personal revelations throughout the car ride are all perfect setups for the big payout at the pageant. A perfectly constructed sequence, you can’t help but shake your head and laugh out loud at the pure complacency (and even creepy enjoyment) by the judges and spectators at the coy faux-sexualizing of young girls in their numbers, but the forced outrage at the more honest “Superfreak” dance sequence in Abigail Breslin’s number. This, coupled with Breslin’s delight in ice cream (and her father’s chiding her for it/ the beauty queen confiding that she loves frozen yogurt) stand at the heart of this film.
Fantastic family drama (car ride)/ biting social satire (the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant)