Little Miss Sunshine Movie Review (2006)
A vibrant road trip comedy about a family trying to drive their daughter to her beauty pageant finals at the last minute, Little Miss Sunshine is an amazing film that will crack your heart right open.
I don’t remember the first time that I watched Little Miss Sunshine. I have seen it so many times and shown it to so many people that the first viewing is just lost in the ether. The only thing that I do remember, though, is that it absolutely changed me. If you were to ask me to pick my top 5 films of all time (because choosing one is impossible), this would always be on that list.
Little Miss Sunshine is about two days in the life of the Hoover family. Mom, Sheryl, has just picked up her adult brother, Frank, from the hospital after a suicide attempt. Bringing him back home with her for his safety, he is settled into the bedroom of Dwayne, a rebellious teen who has taken a vow of silence. During dinner that evening, they receive a message that Sheryl and husband Richard’s daughter, Olive, is suddenly in contention for the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, as the winner of the previous pageant was disqualified. After some negotiating, the entire family, including Richard’s dad and Olive’s performance coach, grandpa, agree to drive from New Mexico to Florida for the competition.
This is a dysfunctional family that you will absolutely fall in love with. Played by a stellar ensemble of Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, this group is always on the edge of falling apart, just like the yellow VW Van in which they are attempting to drive across the country.
With Richard trying to sell an idea for a motivational course about winners and losers, you start to see that this is a group of losers trying incredibly hard to climb out of the psychological pit they find themselves in. That is, except for Olive. A genuine and hopeful 7 year old with a heart as big as the sun, she is the first to notice that Frank’s wrists are injured and the only one able to truly express her worries and vulnerabilities. She is their sunshine.
This movie is full of lots of very funny vignettes that take place along the way between Albuquerque and Redondo Beach, with the pageant being the heartfelt and unexpected climax. While you begin the film with everyone bogged down with their own problems and frustrations, over the course of the journey, their very different personalities begin to gel. They begin to open up to each other and find the smallest glimpses of happiness, if just for a little while.
Little Miss Sunshine is an outstanding movie and you have to watch it. It is funny, awkward, and authentic in so many nuanced ways that I can’t really compare it to any other film. It is its own kind of magic that you just have to experience. And if you’re like me, you’ll dive back into it over and over again, because it’s two hours of warmth and smiling. I am totally in love with all of these characters and their story, and I’m so glad that everyone can share them with me.
Runtime: 102 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes, definitely
Did I Cry? Yep, sure did
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
