Starring: Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Alan
Arkin
Cert: 15
Released: 8th September 2006
The Hoovers are a somewhat disjointed family. Father, Richard (Kinnear), is
investing all his time in promoting his 9-steps to success programme leaving
mother, Sheryl (Collette), to support their teenage son, Dwayne, (who has
taken a vow of silence); their young daughter, Olive, who dreams of being a
beauty queen; grandfather, Edwin (Arkin) who snorts drugs and Sheryl's brother
Frank, who is on suicide watch.
Things are not going right for any of them but a spark of hope arrives in the
shape of the Little Miss Sunshine beuty pageant happening over the other side of
America. Olive has been selected as a finalist so everyone takes a road trip in
the family VW van.
Where things continue to go wrong.
A wonderfully, painful film to watch as each family member is tested to
the limits of their endurance. Glimmers of hope are given to them all just to
give them a bigger high to fall from.
It's like National Lampoon's Vacation films but without the lampoonery.
The ensemble cast are an eclectic bunch of characters all of whom show that
misery and failure happen to people from every walk and at any
age.
