Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Little Miss Sunshine is a Comedy Drama film depicting a dysfunctional family of varying issues.

Our main characters include: Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) is a father and inspirational speaker. Despite his motivation, he is constantly facing failure as no one is really interested in his speech or programmes designed for success. His wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette) finds that she and her husband cannot communicate, and because of this, she is considering a divorce. Sheryl also has a brother, named Frank (Steve Carell), who has previously attempted suicide because of his sexuality and the rejection from his love interest. He is to live with the family temporarily instead of the hospital because of insurance. The grandfather, Edwin Hoover (Alan Arkin), is a drug addict kicked out of the old peoples’ institution for his behaviour. This forced him to move in with his extended family. Richard and Sheryl have a son and a daughter. The eldest, Dwayne (Paul Dano), refuses to speak as he has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a jet pilot. As for the sister, the youngest in the family, named Olive (Abigail Breslin), she is wanting to win the Little Miss Sunshine pageant despite struggling with weight issues and being compared to other girls her age.

The plot begins by introducing one character after another, with Olive first watching the beauty pageants on television. When Frank is introduced to the family at the dinner table, it is clear to us that the family does not get along. When it is stated that she has a chance of competing in the pageants in California, the whole family decides to take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. Along the way, they continue to argue. Tension increases. Things get worse when their bus breaks down. However, it is later that we know the journey has helped them become closer than before. Many things happen to our main characters, mostly negative, but what makes the journey all the more worth it is them going through it together as a family. There are also certain scenes that many would consider heart-breaking, which I will refrain from mentioning which one due to spoilers, however, the scenes are depicted in a way that is light-hearted for such a difficult topic. Even managing to include humour, and there are times when I just did not know whether to laugh or cry. Ultimately, I think it is better to laugh because there is little to no point in moping around dejected. In the same way that it is light-hearted, it is harsh too when it comes to talking about the character’s issues. When discussing difficult topics, the movie is straightforward and bold. No euphemisms. Just straight up harsh truths that can hit the audience hard,

And it is here that I must talk about how well the performance of the actors and actresses are delivered. They play their roles so perfectly that I really thought they were an actual family. My favourite actor or actress is, for definite, Abigail Breslin. She is especially talented for her age. I find her relatable and genuinely see myself in her from when I was her age. I can say for sure that she should be a role model for many young girls her age and that they should also watch the movie, regardless of the age ratings.

Overall, it is a fantastic movie and I would watch it again!