Madly in love with 'Sunshine'

Stop whatever you're doing this second - even if it means not finishing this review -- and just go see "Little Miss Sunshine." This has been my advice to anyone who's asked me about it. Stirring up one of the fiercest bidding wars in Sundance Film Festival history, "Sunshine" sold for a cool $10.5 million earlier this year to Fox Searchlight. It was worth every penny. \nThe story is rather simple. Young Olive (Abigail Breslin) loves beauty pageants and it just so happens that the winner of a regional competition lost her crown, allowing the once second-place Olive a shot at the top prize at the Little Miss Sunshine competition. The problem is her family lives in Albuquerque, N.M. and the competition is all the way out in Redondo Beach, Calif. \nOlive's family is about as dysfunctional as it gets. Her father (Greg Kinnear) is a failed motivational speaker; mom (Toni Collette) is overworked to the bone; her brother (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence thanks to Nietzsche; her grandfather (Alan Arkin) is addicted to heroin; last but not least her uncle (Steve Carell) just tried to commit suicide only days ago. \nYou're asking: How can any of this be humorous? There isn't a single moment during "Sunshine" that I wasn't smiling or laughing hysterically. The cast that has been assembled is so pitch-perfect that all they do is feed off one another. Breslin is simply a treasure to watch, as it seems everyone's emotional levels are teetering while her little heart pushes her to keep things in check. Arkin is bitter as ever while Carell's searing sarcasm knows no bounds. All Dano needs to do is shake his head and the results are instantly hilarious. For parents practically on the edge of divorce, Kinnear and Collette have such chemistry together that along with the rest of this family, everything just feels right. \nHusband and wife directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, having mainly worked on music videos for the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weezer, make their feature film directorial debut with "Sunshine." It only goes to show that music video-turned-film directors are becoming a greater force thanks to trailblazers such as Spike Jonze ("Adaptation") and Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"). \nIf there is any film you see in theaters this year, make sure "Little Miss Sunshine" is one of them. It's an experience you wouldn't want to miss.