10 Movie Sub-Plots That Were More Interesting Than The Main Story

This cult black-comedy from husband and wife director team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris is now a decade old, but the story of the Hoover family and their cross country road trip remains as rewarding a watch today as it did back in 2006. The film revolves around their young daughter Olive qualifying for the Redondo Beach Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant and the lengths her family end up going to in order to get her there.

Along for the ride with Olive and her parents are brother Dwayne, grandfather Edwin and uncle Frank, and while the first two have interesting sub-plots of their own (Dwayne has taken a vow of silence until his dream of becoming a test pilot has been realised and Edwin was recently kicked out of his retirement home for snorting heroin) it is Steve Carell's portrayal of Frank that becomes way more interesting than Olive's pageant.

Frank, a homosexual scholar of French author Proust, finds himself back in touch with his sister and her family after doctors insist that he be supervised in the wake of a failed suicide attempt. During the course of the 800-mile two day road trip Frank encounters the ex-boyfriend who prompted his attempt at his life when he left him for an academic rival.

His character has the most depth out of all the family members and a dry, downbeat performance from Carell only adds to Frank's mystery, leaving you wanting to see more of his story and less of his niece.

Which other superior sub-plots belong on this list? Share your favourites below in the comments thread.