Film Review

What is the Measure

of Unhappy (A Review of Little Miss Sunshine

The Simpsons , was a dysfunctional family , with no less than a rebellious son constantly getting into trouble in school and the community in general , and a drunkard father who would not hesitate to strangle said son at the slightest provocation . It is wacky and funny owing to its cartoonish character and its brilliant writing . The same can be said of the Bluth family in Arrested Development , where between feuding siblings , a drunkard , former socialite mother and a fugitive father

, at the center are values that remain somewhat intact . Their dysfunction , and tragic circumstances are brought in a humorous light

Though with the title Little Miss Sunshine , we see nothing of the glamor we would expect a few minutes into the movie . This is no Simpsons - at least that family kept to their values , had the support of their Springfield neighborhood this is no Arrested Development , as there is no one member left that is functional enough , strong enough to keep the ties together . For all intents and purposes , the Hoovers of Little Miss Sunshine are estranged , and ready to tear to separate directions . We are immediately introduced to people at the end of their ropes - the grandfather is a heroin addict , the uncle recently failed in his suicide attempt , the father is a failed self-help author , the son has all but disowned his dysfunctional family . The mother , for all her efforts to keep her family together , is ironically...