Film: Beauty queen aspirations, terrorism fears and beer-drinking Americans
Family pretend to be normal in Little Miss Sunshine
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Thursday, 07, Sep 2006 06:00
Rupert Grint, best known for his role as Ron in the Harry Potter films, stretches his acting abilities in Driving Lessons. Starring alongside his onscreen Harry Potter mum, Julie Walters, Grint plays a 17-year-old boy from a very religious family who has to spend his summer holidays working for an eccentric and foul-mouthed retired actress.
By working with her his world changes as he spends more time away from his overbearing mother and weak father. Walters, who has won acclaim from critics for her role, told BBC News that she "relished" the opportunity to play such a "gorgeous character". Great performances and mildly amusing comedy make this one of the more enjoyable releases this week.
Playing an autistic person is a precarious role for Hollywood actors and one that's bound to attract criticism if any aspects are badly portrayed. But Sigourney Weaver manages to avoid some of the pitfalls and gives a praise-worthy performance as an autistic mother whose daughter is killed in a car crash in Snow Cake.
Alan Rickman plays the man who was driving the car her daughter was in, and tracks down Weaver to express his condolences. As the pair interact with each other there are moments of genuine humour to lift the sombre tale of the film, resulting in an absorbing and enjoyable 90 minutes.
Those planning to see Little Miss Sunshine this week should prepare themselves for a farcical roadtrip with a difference - a sharp dig in the ribs of the world of child beauty pageants and a riproaring ride through American idealism at the same time.
The child star Olive (Abigail Breslin) is desperate, just desperate, to win a beauty pageant out in the wild world of California. Dad Richard (Greg Kinnear) is desperate to make megabucks with his less-than-successful self-help programme. Brother Frank (Steve Carell) and self-imposed mute son Dwayne (Paul Dano) are just, well, desperate really.
What ensues is a highly unlikely family mission to get Olive to the ball in time, complete with broken-down buses, dying grandfathers and haughty beauty pageant judges.
Critics seem to love Little Miss Sunshine but how a film so unashamedly free of special effects and superstars will fare at the box office remains to be seen.
Playing it straight down the middle cannot be said of Right at Your Door, the low-budget film by writer/director Chris Gorak which takes the theme of "what if?" to the next logical step.
LA is at the centre of a dirty bomb attack, the type of which has never been experienced before. The city descends into chaos and the relationship of Lexi (Mary McCormack) and Brad (Rory Cochrane) gets put to the test.
Disaster movies of this ilk are ten a penny at the moment, but the ongoing fear of terrorism and the near-September 11th release date mean that this will certainly touch a nerve and get the audience thinking.
Those looking for something a little less heavy and more, well juvenile, should head for Beerfest. Two American brothers travel to Germany for the legendary beer festival and discover a secret drinking society. Unsurprisingly, the gags are entirely predictable and the plot non-existent.