Little Miss Sunshine — Page 4

"Thanks, Clumsy...

*pours Clumsy a glass of fine wine at our "table for two"*"

Oh yeah, baby.
Oh yeah.


:sernades Best12Bars with "It Takes Two" from Hairspray:

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Updated On: 2/24/07 at 09:18 PM

All movies are unrealistic to a certain extent, so what really matters is if the characters are realistic and real and human and relatable.

I found all of the characters in LMS to be extraordinarily real and human.

And that, to me, is what made it a great movie.

Do I think it is a stunning cinematic acheivement? No.
Do I think it deserves all the hoopla surrounding it? No.

Most of the success in making the characters so full and interesting belongs to the actors, as Michael Arndt's screenplay is nothing extraordinary.

But still, however unoriginal it may be, it's still a good movie.

*Edited because hoppla isn't a word, though it should be.

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Updated On: 2/24/07 at 09:20 PM

Exactly.
If someone relates to it and connects to it, that's all that matters.

Apparently the majority of America connects and relates to Norbit and Jackass 2. Assume what you will about America from that fact.

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Oh dear.

:consoles best12bars with rousing rendition of C'mon Everybody from All Shook Up:

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Stiffer drink? Are your erections dysfunctional?

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Updated On: 2/24/07 at 09:45 PM

Hey, for instance, I'm now watching After Hours for the upteenth time. One of my favorite films. Totally unbelievable. But it created an atmosphere which took me into it.

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DG-I missed your post while I was writing one. I agree with you in your general view towards art. I wish more people would feel that way.

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No, it's good-thanks for the laugh!

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I loathed Little Miss Sunshine. Have to admit I'm completely baffled by the hoopla. It's like a studio set out to make "one of those quirky indie films" and had no idea how to go about it other than to connect the dots from a computer program of plot elements. Let's take the dysfunctional family and put them on a road trip in a broken down vehicle. Throw in an elderly grandfather who's supposed to be hilarious because he's raunchy and profane...yet he's old, get it! And, of course, you just know that character will die in the course of the trip. Not a spoiler. You'd have to be mentally defective, under the age of five, or have never seen a movie before not to see that one coming. And then there's the daring, cutting-edge satire of targets like child beauty pageants and motivational speakers. Oooh, that's never been done before.

The brother-in-law who's supposed to be a college French professor and Proust scholar looked and acted like he might possibly pass as a used car salesman or a game show host, but that's about it. And the ending with the bizarro, retro, saved-in-the nick-of time dance number reminded me of nothing so much as Napoleon Dynamite. I'd have to go back and look at lists, but off the top of my head, Little Miss Sunshine is possibly the weakest Academy Award nominee since Love Story in 1970.

I agree with kjklo on this one - it really didn't hit me like it's apparently hit so many others.

Think Imogene Coca in National Lampoon's Vacation.

I have watched movies and simply laughed my ass off (e.g., SOAPDISH). I have watched movies and cried (e.g., CINEMA PARADISO). I have watched movies that I just found fascinating because of they way the filmmakers told the story (e.g., LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS.)

Sometimes it's just a joy to watch one particular actor in a role...or a dance sequence that is breathtaking...or something that connects me to my childhood.

I may not relate to it the same way someone else does, but that doesn't make it bad...or good. I can't always take intensity. Sometimes I want a diversion. I wasn't like this when I was younger. I used to think that everything had to have "meaning." But it is sometimes very healthy to get away from all the "meaning" and just RELAX.

I found Little Miss Sunshine completely believable. I have known people like every single person in that movie. (I'm not exaggerating either.) Everyone's reality is different. A work of art either speaks to you or it doesn't. I think it's that simple.

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Sorry, can't resist summing up: Little Miss Sunshine was possibly at best, as far as satires of dysfunctional American families, about one tenth as good as the worst episode of the old sitcom Arrested Development. And it's nominated for the Academy Award for best picture? I know the Oscars are just a joke and purely for promotional purposes, but still. This is going over the line into the area of disgraceful. I guess what offended me the most was the complete lack of authenticity and the highly calculated, formulaic quality of the script/direction.