“Little Miss Sunshine”
In America the definition of family has many different meanings, all of them include some sort of embarrassment and ongoing tension. Growing up isn’t easy. You never enjoy the company of your parents and family especially when they don’t enjoy the company of each other. In Little Miss Sunshine a film written by Michael Arndt, and directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, the real American family and its values are defined in a hilarious and reassuring manner.
The family is the Hoover’s. The father, an unsuccessful motivational speaker, the mother, a closeted smoker, the uncle who failed to commit suicide, the grandpa who snorts heroin, the son, a follower of Nietzsche who has taken a vow of silence, and the daughter who is amazingly real and awkward who also manages to bring the whole family together.
The family eats buckets of chicken for dinner while arguing about how to explain why Uncle Frank (Steve Carell) tried and failed at committing suicide, or why Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence. Of course the whole time young Olive (Abigail Breslin) is asking the most honest questions that the adults fight about how to answer. Richard the father (Greg Kinear) tries to explain everything in his motivational tone while the mother (Toni Collette) wants to be open and honest about everything.
The Hoover’s get packed into the families VW van for a road trip to California in hopes to have Olive win The Little Miss Sunshine pageant. All the characters are forced to exist together for a few days, if they all make it. Upon many bumps in the road the family becomes annoyed with each other, mad, sarcastic, embarrassed, and cooperative. Eventually they all end up understanding how to get along and what is most important, family.
Throughout the movie you think about this family in comparison to yours, and you understand that it’s all the same. This movie proves that the family that can learn to work together is a family that can stay together. When faced with the many dilemmas that pop up on the way to the pageant, this family has no choice but to get creative and bond together.
Little Miss Sunshine is a must see. It is witty and funny, with a comforting tone that makes you hopeful for the salvation of your own family. It was very well written and directed, with great cinematography and on point comical timing and delivery.
Story- A+
Acting- A
Visuals- A
Originality/ Innovation- A
Enjoyability- A+
Overall Grade- A
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