by Derek Smith 8/17/06

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If the picture to your right can't stand for the current state of pop-indie filmmaking, it can at least stand as a clear representation of just about every problem I have with Little Miss Sunshine.  If independent filmmakers think that all you need to present an original vision is to embrace the outcasts of mainstream cinema - the homosexuals, the depressed (hey, they got a two-for-one with Steve Carrell on this one), the angst-ridden teen, the chubby kid and parents trying to make ends meet - and then inject them into a formulaic plot, than we might as we throw ourselves at the feet of the studios and let them have their way with us.  I mean, I'm all for quirkiness with tender mix of comedy and drama, but Little Miss Sunshine is pure cotton candy - instances of sweetness that dissolve into nothing...perfectly agreeable in the present but leaving you with a sticky residue that requires some serious Scope-time to remove.  Ok, forget about the mouthwash and take what you will from the rest.  My point is that these are exactly the types of films that we don't need to be applauding even if they're far from the worst trash Hollywood dishes out on a weekly basis.  Personally, I didn't hate the film because the likes of Carrell and Toni Collette are just so damn likeable, but if independent cinema is supposed to be original, challenging and attempting to expand the possibilities of genre and style, what good are pleasant, quirky audience-pleasers?

For fear of sounding like I'm trashing a film that I kind of, almost enjoyed, I should give some credit where credit is due.  Its one impressive feat is that it manages to get more mileage out of its tiresome archetypes than one could ever hope for, both in terms of humor and the few perversely touching sequences on the road, but even these moments are fleeting as absurd coincidences and contrivances immediately bring things crashing down to mediocrity.  Carrell's struggle to cope with the loss of his lover and, subsequently, his job is played straight (no pun intended) and his stone-faced resilience and acceptance of everything thrown his way from the start of the film is actually quite moving until the filmmaker's decide to play his misery for laughs in an uncomfortably bad quicky mart scene that I won't ruin for those planning to see the film.  The scene exemplifies the major fault of Little Miss Sunshine - a staunch refusal to let things get too serious without interrupting with repeated attempts at bittersweet humor and the inability to be dramatic without simultaneously being cute.  It remains stuck in a limbo state that more and more indie films find themselves these days because of its non-committal attitude.  Relying almost solely on its bubbly quirkiness to keep things afloat, it falls into the trap of the newfound indie formula where the embracing of the dysfunctional family is all you need for a successful film.  Psychological and philosophical truths are doled out like fortune cookies as if audiences aren't ready to swallow the cold, hard truths of the modern world without the candy-coating.  That it even touches on some serious issues like disaffected youth and high-pressure child-rearing is enough for many people to give this film a pass, but in the end, all it is one big blown opportunity.  After all, if independent filmmakers stop taking risks, then what are we left with?