This smart mix of farce and heart is a welcome entry into the realm of comedy film. A dysfunctional family travel across the United States towards California so Olive (Breslin) can fulfil her one dream to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant. And its the job of her father, Richard (Kinnear) - an unsuccessful motivational speaker - and his platitude spouting, takeout chicken eating wife Sheryl (Collette), along with their extended family, to get Olive there. Along the crazy journey everyone will confront their inner doubts in an entertaining and highly amusing fashion each time.The casting, writing and direction are wonderful. This movie is a ramshackle piece, but everything fits in perfectly to make it exactly what it should be and no more. Steve Carell is fantastic in the almost serious role of the drastically depressed Frank and Alan Arkin is a superb geriatric, filthy-minded heroin snorting grandfather. What I really loved was that this film never fell into a cutesy family road film and managed to be heart-warming without needing to be sickening.'