When little Olive Hoover becomes eligible to compete in the regional Little Miss Sunshine pageant, her dysfunctional but supportive family decide to help her get there.  Traveling from New Mexico to California in a failing Volkswagen bus, the family, despite an utter distaste for one another, must find a way to inhabit shared space for two straight days and face a slew of problems, both physical and psychological, along the way.  Little Miss Sunshine is a superbly written dark comedy that closely examines contemporary American family values and the growing dichotomy between what constitutes success and failure.

Little Miss Sunshine is written by Michael Arndt, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and stars Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, and Alan Arkin.  Rated R. 

Be sure to check out FilmCrunch’s Little Miss Sunshine Video Review. The DVD release brings along plenty of features to supplement the Oscar-nominated film:

• Both widescreen and fullscreen viewing options
• Two commentaries, one with directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, another with the directors and screenwriter Michael Arndt
• Four alternate endings with optional director commentary.
• Music video featuring music by Denver-based indie rock band DeVotchKa
• Soundtrack spot.
• Trailers