12

ANDREW KURJATA
EDITOR IN CHIEF
“But can they act?”

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LITLE MISS SUNSHINE

DOUG FERGUSON

CONTRIBUTER

This was one of the movies that knew
just by the trailer that it was going to be
really good. A lot of trailers feature clips
of the film organized in a way that make
it look as awesome as possible. They can
take funny moments and then stick in
reactions that are seemingly applicable
but in reality from a completely different
scene in the movie.

This movie proved itself to be dif-
ferent by just taking one of the earlier
scenes from the movie and tightening
the editing a bit. There couldn't be any
sort of deception as that alone show-
cased the movie's strengths. Granted, it
is entirely possible for it to fall apart, but
luck for me, which was not the case.

Little Miss Sunshine is a great display

BEES

That's the first question asked every
time successful musical acts (Madonna,
Eminem, Prince) announce that they're
going to be starring in a major motion
picture. And usually the answer is that
yes, they can do a passable job, so long
as they play themselves or someone very
similar to themselves, 50 Cent notwith-
standing.

So it seems that Big Boi and André

of a movie driven by fleshed out charac-
ters. This is an ensemble movie. All of
the characters are essential to the film
and they compliment each other so bril-
liantly. In some ways it is by silent rivalry.
In others it is a subtle adoration. The
point is that whether the interactions
make it overly apparent or not there is

Little Miss Sunshine is a
great display of a movie
driven by fleshed out char-

acters.

chemistry between the characters and
the actors.

As for the actors, I thought they all did
an exceptional job. I figured out where
Tve seen Paul Dano before. Remember
The Girl Next Door? He was the long
haired geeky friend of the protagonist.
Yeah, I know, Crazy! Fine performance
considering the character didn't speak.

Abigail Breslin doesn’t have a very
long filmography, but she has a few roles

Steve Carrell: the only reason you're’

interested in this movie.

OVER THE EDGE NEWSPAPER. SEPTEMBER 13, 2006

3000 (or, is it 1936 now?) have done
the right thing in Idlewild by choosing
on-screen personas that are reflections
of their musical personalities. Big Boi
is the fast-talking hustler, while Dré is
a funeral-parlour recluse. And much
like their last release Speakerboxxx/The
Love Below, the two appear together in
very few scenes, choosing instead to do
their own thing and release it in a single
package. This has resulted in many crit-
ics (justifiably) lambasting the movie for
taking on too much and falling into end-
lesss clichés.

This isn't to say the movie is a waste
of time, however. To start with, the two
rappers are passable actors, and they
hold their own alongside the other
characters in the film. That is, they do
until Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow,
Crash) appears and proceeds to act cir-
cles around everyone involved, Despite
playing what should be a two-dimen-
sional gangster character (the same as
everyone else), he somehow brings in
elements of psychosis that make all the
other performances fall flat. I cant think

of any other movies I've seen where the

behind her belt. The most noteworthy is
Signs. That's right, she’s Bo only bigger!
It's nice to see that she's still getting roles
in respectable films. Her performance
was genuine and sometimes she seems
have a natural instinct for deadpan-hu-
mour.

At first I thought that they may have
just-thrown Steve Carell in with these
actors because he's starting to get really
popular now. However, he played the
part really really well. He wasn't exactly
a hilarious character and he played it
very honestly. I now have a lot of faith in
Steve Carell as an actor considering how
ridiculous he was in Anchorman.

I should also comment on the struc-
ture of the film. Those of you expect-
ing to go and see a laugh-out-loud-
knee-slapper of a film, yes this is good.
However, the start of it is kind of slow.
It focuses more on character develop-
ment than crashing into the hilarity. The
characters are amusing so there is some
amusing banter, but it doesnt start off
as funny as it finishes. I think it's a good
idea to plot it out this way. It gives us a
chance to get to know who were dealing
with so that the pay off is.so much more.
What it leads to wouldn't be so grand if
it weren't for these essentials.

The main story is simple but every
person has their own personal battle
that they need to deal with. I don't
want to give anything away, but the film
doesn't have a standard happy ending.
What it does have it a satisfying conclu-
sion. In that regard, it was a successful
portrayal of real life. :

The film makers seem to know what's
most important. Creating people we care
about is a surprisingly difficult task, but
they made it priority one: Little Miss
Sunshine is a breath of fresh air con-

sidering some of the crap that's coming’

onto the big screen these days.

reality is shattered by one of the actors
being too good, but that’s what hap-
pened here.

Not that “reality” is of much concern in
Idlewild. After all, it is a musical, and one
which involves a talking flask and ran-
dom scenes of animation. However, this

“To start with, the two rap-
pers are passable actors, and
they hold their own along-
side the other characters in

the film. That is, they do

until...

wasnt a problem, at least not for me. Per-
haps it's because I'm part of the “MTV
generation’ that more literal-minded
reviewers speak of so disparagingly, but
I'm not really bothered by the fact that
this movie brings hip-hop to Prohibi-
tion-era America. Rather, I was pleased
to hear classic Outkast songs such as
“The Rooster” and “I Like the Way You
Move" take on new life as barroom jazz
standards, I've also since gone back and
relistened to Big Bois Speakerboxxx
in the context of the rooster character
(the one with the high-pitched voice, if
you know the album) being temptation,
and Id have to say it makes the album

stronger. Unfortunately, I can't say that
any of the new songs were particularly
outstanding, which doesn't bode well
for the soundtrack released alongside
the film, though the song-and-dance
number during the end credits was fun
to watch,

Which leaves just one more issue to
be addressed. In a number of reviews I
have read, critics complain that Idlewild,
despite taking place in the 1930s and
having a completely African-American
cast, completely ignores issues of racism.
Why is this a problem? It is a musical, a
fun musical full of hustlers and dancing
and imagination. Are they suggesting
that from now until forever, any time a
black actor appears in a movie they have
to play a historically accurate slave? We
should never allow minority groups to
play whatever role they choose, because
they have some sort of duty to uphold?
This is exactly the sort of mindset we
should be getting out of, and for doing
so Outkast are once again pioneers and
Idlewild can be considered a success.

Idlewild: 3/5

Pros: fans of the group will be happy to
bear music they love in a new setting

Cons: thin on plot, probably won't ap-
peal to non-Outkast fans

CANADA WEST FOUNDATION

ESSAY CONTEST

ls voting important? Why or why not?

$5,000

cash prize for the winning essay

‘The 2006 Canada West Foundation Essay Contest. is open to students.
under the age of 35 and attending a post-secondary institution in BC,
' Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Manitoba’as of December 1, 2008.

Essays must be 750 to! 1,000 words in length.

Essays'stould answer the question "ts voting important?" and explain’
why the author does or does not think this is the case.

‘Essays should be submitted to the Canada West Foundation via email

by December 1, 2006.

Please provide your full name, address, phone number, and the name of
your post-secondary institution at the beginning of your essay.

Please paste your essay into the body of the email message (attached

fites will not be accepted).

The best essays will be published in the Canada West Foundation’s

Dialogues Magazine.
Essays should be emailed to:

‘Robert Roach, Canada West Foundation Director of Research

roach@cwtica

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ey ‘enrollment.

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