After a summer of excruciating, tedious, bland and generally sh*t blobkbusters (I haven’t been to the movies apart from once since I returned from Down Under), I’m really glad that semi-independent movies like this one are gracing our screens again. It’s one of those little gems about dysfunctional families, growing up, getting old and going on a roadtrip of self discovery.

Most of the movie will have you laughing, even though most of the time it is dealing with serious issues such as suicide, death and the horror of beauty pageants for children. Serious types will probably say it’s a bit shallow and contrived, and I’ll agree that it lacks any real depth, but at the end of the day it made me smile. Hah!

Great performances all round, but for me the standouts were Alan Arkin as Grandpa, and Abigail Breslin as Olive.

Forget plot, good lines and likeable characters. Try to ignore Farrels handlebar moustache. What you can appreciate is the amazing HD camerawork by Mann. The film has a pseudo-documentary style that really grips you in the high octane gun battle scenes at the end of the movie. The night time panoramic shots of Miami and high speed boats are awesome. Not one for the ladies, probably not even for the gents really, but it’s definitely trying to do something different in terms of style.