Little Miss Sunshine

Unlike most comedies, Little Miss Sunshine teaches a lesson, albeit an unintentional one. This movie is as much about family as it is about laughs. It follows the Hoover clan in its trek across country to enter its littlest member in a beauty pageant. Mom (Toni Collette of In Her Shoes) and Dad (Greg Kinnear of As Good As It Gets) are in charge of this lovingly dysfunctional bunch, which includes Grandpa, Uncle Frank (the always hilarious Steve Carrell of The 40-Year Old Virgin), son Dwayne, and the aforementioned Olive. Wanna know how messed up this family is? Dad is a washed-up motivational speaker, Frank just attempted suicide, Dwayne hasn't uttered a word in months, and Grandpa is a cokehead. Oh yeah, let the good times roll. Yet somehow it works, because when the chips are down the Hoover family is there for one another - reminding us that you can't pick your family, but that's probably what makes them so special. Little Miss Sunshine might be the funniest movie of the year, because the laughs aren't cheap, they're heartfelt. There are no sight gags, no gross-out humor...just a touchingly funny portrayal of a family that isn't so strange after all.