Little Miss Sunshine (15)

Every screening sold out since its first in Sept 2006, and ever since. It will take you on an unanticipated, emotional ride. The characters are beautifully drawn, and unlike those that leave you empty, this will warm your heart. It tells the story of the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families you’re ever likely to meet. To fulfil the dream-wish of seven-year-old Olive, the whole motley family, trek to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California. Along the way they must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreaks and a broken-down van. The family is made up of an uncommonly natural little miss Olive, a silent, Nietzsche-reading teenager, a suicidal uncle, an embarrassingly optimistic dad, a scatty mother, and a horny, coke-snorting grandfather with a penchant for creative profanity (the wholly original Alan Arkin, got Best Supporting Oscar for this) This is a beautifully observed road movie, where sanity takes a back seat, while innocence and hope drive it every step of the way. Come now, see it afresh, untampered on our big screen, before it goes missing.

Alan Arkin 26/3/34 – 29/6/23