Full Review

To call the Hoover family of Albuquerque, N.M., dysfunctional is to state the obvious.

There's father Richard (Greg Kinnear), a tiresomely gung-ho motivational speaker; his long-suffering wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette); their alienated son, Dwayne (Paul Dano), with his self-imposed vow of absolute silence; Sheryl's gay brother, Frank (Steve Carell), who's recovering from a suicide attempt; and Richard's crusty father, Grandpa (Alan Arkin) who's just been thrown out of a nursing home for bad behavior. (Oh, and he also has a serious drug problem.)

And yet, as the immensely likable "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight) demonstrates, underneath it all the Hoovers are like every other family. We come to see just how like us they are during an eventful trek in a creaky yellow van to Los Angeles, where their slightly plump and bespectacled daughter, Olive (Abigail Breslin), will compete in a beauty pageant.

Husband-and-wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have directed a refreshingly offbeat and endearing tale -- from Michael Arndt's sharp script -- which has the artful ring of truth about it.

Underneath the zaniness, there's an incredibly positive reinforcement of family and an affirmation of genuine values, especially in the ultimate pageant sequence, which underscores the superficiality and vulgarity of contemporary society, even though eyebrows may be raised at Olive's onstage antics during the talent competition. Still, the real lesson is the importance of being true to oneself.

Each of the characters is a victim of life's vicissitudes (for example, few go to Richard's lectures, Frank's profoundly unhappy, Dwayne is mad at the world), but by the time the film ends, they all come to better understandings of the blessings in their lives and learn that winning is not necessarily the recipe for happiness.

The ensemble cast could not be better. Kinnear impresses with each new role; Collette adds another accomplished portrayal to her roster; a bearded Carell plays the emotionally wounded academic impressively (and yes, he's funny too).

Arkin's off-putting vulgarity is balanced by an empathetic understanding. As the siblings, Dano makes the most of his angry young man, and when toward the end he finally speaks, his outburst is unbearably moving, while Breslin manages a canny combination of innocence and wisdom-beyond-her-years.

It is important to note that there's an unfortunately high quotient of expletives and some sexual references (mostly courtesy of the Arkin character during a protracted, extremely coarse rant in the van) that would seem to limit the film's suitability to adults, and necessitate the "L" classification as a warning about the film's problematic elements.

But given the overwhelmingly positive context of the story in which these elements appear -- with the transformative nature of the story, and several unexpected moments of grace -- many more will enjoy the film than its restrictive rating would suggest. Several Catholic parents to whom we've spoken have opined that they would not even have a problem with their older teenagers seeing such a pro-family film.

If you can see past the objectionable elements, this is a road trip you'll be glad to take. The film contains rough and occasionally profane words, sexual references, a suicide element, a minor gay plot element, a sight gag involving adult magazines and brief drug use. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.