It is near impossible to think of an actor who was quite like Alan Arkin. With a career spanning decades, he proved himself to be a master of both comedy and drama and was always one of the best parts of whatever he was in. More than any actor of his generation (or frankly, any other), he was able to thread the needle between a whole tapestry of rich emotions with ease. He could play abrasive just as he could wise, making for an endlessly fascinating screen presence who thrived in even the smallest of parts. No matter which role he took on, whenever he would show up on screen, there was always a sense that we were in the hands of a reliable performer who could be just as comedic as he was unexpectedly compassionate.
Alan Arkin passed away at the age of 89, leaving behind a vast body of work that includes everything from playing opposite Audrey Hepburn in the unsettling Wait Until Dark to his acclaimed performance in the series The Kominsky Method. Each individual will have their own standout work that comes to mind when they look back on his career, as he was just that good. However, in all the tributes that have been pouring out, there is one film that represents Arkin at his best. His performance in Little Miss Sunshine stands out in an already standout career. Capturing the layers of a man as deceptively complicated as he was darkly comedic, there will always be the sense that this was the role Arkin alone could do better than anyone else.
Though an ensemble dramedy, there is just so much that hinges upon him to make it all work. He did so without ever missing a step, pulling us deeper into the life of a man who did not yet know he was near the end of his own. While awards are not always the barometer of a good performance, the fact that Arkin would win an Oscar for his performance was as fitting a recognition as the speech he gave more than a decade ago. Not only is said speech worth watching fully to understand just how gracious he was, but the film itself remains a joyous one that will now always be even more bittersweet. As Edwin, the grumpy grandfather of the Hoover family, Arkin emerges as the snarky heart and soul of the entire experience.
Though we are locked in from the very beginning of the film, there is one particular moment early on that really shows how great he was. Just as the cast of characters is starting out on their trip to the beauty pageant, Arkin’s Edwin gives a monologue to end all monologues. Discussing how tired he is, he launches into a vulgar riff about how he is too exhausted for sex which has all the confidence of a stand-up comedian who has spent decades working on their craft. As this sends the rest of the van into near silence, Arkin just keeps going as he shifts into giving advice to Paul Dano’s troubled young Dwayne who has taken a vow of silence. As Edwin proclaims to be the “voice of experience,” he advises him to “f*ck a lot of women.”
In case there was any ambiguity to this statement, he elaborates to specify “not just one woman, a lot of women.” Over the futile protesting of Greg Kinnear’s Richard, Arkin brings to life the anarchic ambivalence of a man who just says whatever he wants. It is unforgettable, funny, and revealing all at once. There is a tragedy to it as we hear his regrets playing out in the confines of the van and the escalating rise of his voice. It is immensely inappropriate in a way that feels so authentic, making his shift into saying “will you kindly not interrupt me Richard?” as if he is just having a pleasant chat all the more funny. When he then proclaims that he still has Nazi bullets in his ass as a way of saying he deserves respect, he just keeps riling himself up even more. His voice is that of a man who probably never cared much for being respectful and now most definitely does not. Arkin pulls no punches, authentically setting us on edge as we see Edwin continue to drive his family up the wall the longer the drive goes on.
At the same time, we begin to care for him. Arkin does this not by sanding down all the genuinely cruel aspects of who he is, but in how he supports the young Olive (Abigail Breslin) in her dreams more than any other. Edwin is a man of multitudes because of this performance, teasing out the contradictions of how he behaves to the point that you feel like you’ve known him more than almost any other character in the film. He doesn’t waste a single line, chewing each of them up and spitting them out in the faces of his own family. Arkin doesn’t treat it just as a gag (though it is plenty funny) as he also can speak volumes with a single withering stare. His exasperation at the world around him just never stops expanding. Arkin delicately ensures we come to understand every single aspect of who Edwin is, making a simple chuckle after the group had to jump into the van for the first time so authentic that it hurts. It is as if you are hearing the laugh of your own grandfather where, even with all his many flaws on full display, there is still a brief hint of the joy that he could have when not so bitter about everything. This only makes the demise of his character all the more tragic.
When Edwin meets his end, the product of a heroin overdose, the impact of this loss is a testament to just how assured Arkin was at every single moment. He was just as good at expressing heartfelt sincerity as he was biting sarcasm, making it a cocktail of a performance that could be more than a bit sour before becoming something oddly sweet. The supportive speech Arkin gives to Breslin near the end of the film, the last Edwin delivers in his life, is this in beautiful action. There are plenty of performances he gave that are worth praising, each with its own particular strengths, but his work in Little Miss Sunshine will always remain one of his absolute best. There was no one quite like Arkin, with this film serving as a prime example of the glorious presence he had. A titan of comedy and drama who will be missed, he will always be one of the greatest actors of all time because of performances like this.
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