Visiting Friends and Little Miss Sunshine

Before heading to the movies last night I stopped by my friends the Renningers where there daughter Helen, her husband Bill and their two daughters were visiting. Helen and I have been friends since elementary school and Bill and Helen are my Dani’s godparents. Their two girls Becca and Rachel are adorable. It’s too bad my girls are in Orlando at Disney World otherwise they would have gone swimming with the girls in the Rennginer’s backyard. I only stayed for a half an hour but it was great seeing them all including Bill’s mother Nancy and Helen’s cousin Howard, let’s all hope that Howard heals from his surgery in the most "intimate"of places.

Last night my brother Bill and I decided to go to the movies to see Little Miss Sunshine. I have to say that I didn’t know a lot about the movie but heard that it had gotten great reviews on the radio and in the papers, Bill, admittingly knew less than I did.

LMS was released to a few independent theaters this weekend and it’ll open in the larger chains next weekend, hence the long lines at the Cinema Arts theater in Fairfax. The movie was being shown on two screens and we decided to see the 8:00 pm showing. We arrived about five minutes early to purchase our tickets to be greeted by the ticket seller telling us that this showing was sold out. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve been to a movie that was sold out. After discussing it we bought tickets for the 9:25 movie. The man in the window told us to make sure we were back 30 minutes before the showing because it was going to be sold out as well.

While we waited for our film we stopped in a little Italian place called Momma Leona’s for a slice and a drink. We also spent a few minutes in the local hobby store where I flew a radio controlled airplane on a computer with a RC flight simulator, pretty cool but I don’t think I’d ever spend the amount of money they wanted. Back to the theater. We made it about 40 minutes before the movie and we were about the 90th in line. By the time we were let in the line was about 300 feet long as it wound through the shopping center.

All seats were taken when the previews started, I had my regular movie treats, a popcorn and a bottle of water. Bill had his soda and bag of Sour Patch candy. The Cinema Arts Theater is a different little place and if you’ve never been there I must recommend it. The owner comes out in-between the previews and asks the audience if he should book the film that we just saw the trailer for. He lets the audience influence him in what movies he’ll be showing over the next few months.

If you don’t know anything about Little Miss Sunshine I suggest that you don’t read anything about it before you see it and you should DEFINITELY see it. It stars Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin and Toni Collette. It works its way to become a "road" movie ands it’s a great ensemble cast piece of work. I’m not always the biggest fan of Greg Kinnear but he is very likeable here, but it was Steve Carell and the two kids in the movie who made it for me. I don’t want to ruin it for you but Bill and I thought the movie was great, it had pathos, sincerity, quirkiness and a lot of laughs. It’s rated R because of a ton of F-bombs, most of them delivered by the aging and cool as ever, Alan Arkin.