2006 / Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris > The primary complaint about Little Miss Sunshine has been how contrived its characters are, how they so easily fit into sitcom slots. It’s true, but I found it to be a positive attribute of the film. Each family member is exploited to create a ranged satire of the American dysfunctional household. It’s not meant to be cheap and actually comes out surprisingly clever.

At times, I found myself genuinely laughing, the way only a few films have (such as this year’s Family Ties and last year’s The Upside of Anger). We end up empathizing with much of the silliness, sometimes directly and other times in a metaphorical sense. Much of this is due to the superb acting: Virtually everyone shines, including a heartbreaking sequence by The Girl Next Door’s Paul Dano.

The writing is crisp, but one could make an argument that the plot is a little too connect-the-dots. It ends up working, however, mostly because of the “road movie” nature of the film. Indeed, it’s a wonderful ride from beginning to end, even if one finds the return home a little muted in direction. The final revelations aren’t holistic, and that may be enough to keep it from reaching higher ground.