(Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/little_miss_sunshine)
Almost 20 years later, and I still believe that Little Miss Sunshine does the perfect job of portraying the average dysfunctional family (as someone from a dysfunctional family -- I would know! 😂)
Right off the bat, the first thing to take away from this film is its realism.
The Hoovers are your typical middle-class American family.
▪️ the entrepreneur father trying to make ends meet
▪️ the stressed mother trying to hold it altogether
▪️ the rebellious teen who refuses to speak
▪️ the optimistic child who believes she can win the beauty pageant
▪️ the potty-mouth grandpa who snorts cocaine, and
▪️ the depressed uncle who is staying after a recent suicide attempt
There are two characters that I love in this film: the siblings, Olive and Dwayne.
Olive is played by a young Abigail Breslin, and if this wasn't her first theatrical role, then it was my first time ever seeing her on screen. (The second time was My Sister's Keeper -- another phenomenal movie 🙏🙏)...
Anyway, her character in this is incredibly lovable; she is a little girl who has not yet been influenced by society. And for whatever reason, Olive's passion happens to be beauty pageants -- a competition that chews up girls like herself. Her family recognizes this and desperately wants to protect her, but honestly, I commend the mother for refusing to listen to the other family members. I think it was important for Olive to live out her dream that she worked hard for... even if it meant getting hurt in the process...
Little Miss Sunshine teaches us a lesson, and it is one that not many movies have for us. Of course we want so desperately to protect the people that we love, but on the occasions where we can't -- especially with things like societal judgement and criticism -- we can still be supportive and remind them of what's important.
Obviously Dwayne is a memorable character... and for me, it was for a personal reason 😅 I used to have a huge crush on Paul Dano when this movie was released 😳 Dano is famous for the most iconic scene in the film: the famous "fuck!!" scene, after 9 long months of silence.
I have always felt this scene in my soul, I heavily sympathize with Dwayne. The feeling of having the weight on your shoulders while simultaneously being misunderstood by everybody... Your one ticket out and it's gone in a second, and you're left spiralling...
There are tons of other memorable mentions as well...
▪️ telling Olive why her uncle tried to kill himself
▪️ grandpa's life advice
▪️ the running start every time to get the van going
▪️ forgetting Olive at the gas station
I really enjoyed the scene between Olive and grandpa, when she tells him that she's scared to lose because "daddy hates losers." It's very reminiscent of how a child views the world and interprets things... Children might be afraid of many little things, but the biggest fear is always losing the admiration of one's parents, of being a failure in loved one's eyes.