"everyone pretend to be normal"

Tonight, I met D and Ophy for dinner at Ichiban and then we went and saw "Little Miss Sunshine" (starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin).

Written by Michael Arndt, this is the story of the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families ever seen on motion picture screens. Together, the motley six-member family treks from Albuquerque to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, CA, to fulfill the deepest wish of 7-year-old Olive, an ordinary little girl with big dreams. Along the way the family must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreaks, and a broken-down VW bus, leading up to the surreal Little Miss Sunshine competition itself. On their travels through this bizarrely funny landscape, the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other along the path of life, no matter what the challenge.

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I despise beauty pageants. This film actually handles the subject matter quite well. The music is also excellent, especially DeVotchKa's score.

As Gorilla vs. Bear put it:

Forget that the soundtrack features two Sufjan songs AND Rick James, the DeVotchKa songs are the highlight.

Listen to "The Winner Is" and "How it Ends."

If they sound familiar, it's because you've heard them before — in "Everything is Illuminated."