Little Miss Sunshine (4 1/2 stars)

Until tonight I thought expectations meant everything when it came to whether or not I'd enjoy a movie. To me, a movie is never judged in a vacuum. Instead, my enjoyment is directly related to the relative gap between what I expect, and what is presented. I'm sure there is a long list of films that I would have enjoyed, and
remember more fondly had I not expected so much in advance.

The film I saw tonight threw me a bit of a curveball. I had high expectations for "Little Miss Sunshine", as it looked to be of my most beloved genre, the dark comedy focused on a deeply flawed and slightly non-traditional family unit. Of this genre, I rate the "The Royal Tenenbaums" as the most representative, and most appreciated. In addition, I'm a big fan of two of the lead actors in "Little Miss Sunshine", Greg Kinnear for his ability to sell just about any character in a way that makes you believe he could be "that guy", and Steve Carell, for his ability to take what might be a mundane role and provide the nuance that makes you smile. Even the previews were done well, leaving me with as I said, high expectations.

The surprise that shattered my theory of cinematic judgment was that while I really, really enjoyed "Little Miss Sunshine", I don't think it was a truly great film. That is, I truly enjoyed this film, despite the film not reaching my sky-high expectations (I've rated it a 4 1/2 star movie, but was expecting a 5). The whole experience nearly threw off any sense of equilibrium and confidence in my reality (much of my faith in reality is, perhaps unusually, based on my ability to build plausible theories for the reasons behind things).

I suppose I should say something of the film in an effort to explain. Think National Lampoons Vacation written by a manic-depressive from New Mexico. Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell certainly didn't disappoint and the cast of characters offered ample quirkiness to keep things interesting. The writers also included some clever elements of suspense, most notably the son who has taken a vow of silence. More than anything though, I enjoyed the alternating moments of laughter (at one point I laughed so hard I had tears welling up in the outside corners of my eyes) and sadness that the movie offered. If, like me, you had a less than Beaver Clever upbringing, some moments will sting. Even with all that the movie offered, it wasn't truly great. There was something missing in the tempo, failing to successfully walk the thin line between pensive moments and moving too slowly. Perhaps this evaluation is too harsh, or maybe I'm just ensuring you'll enjoy the experience more than I did.

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