Little Miss Sunshine - Movie Review

By
Kathy Graves
9.5

10

0
9.5

10

Little Miss Sunshine

This is one of my favorite films of all time. You can watch this film a million times and will still make you cry, laugh, and feel good while watching. It’s a film that discusses a hidden topic, as complicated as capitalism, but in a rather simple way.

How the world around us shapes the very definitions of monetary values, fashion, success, and winning to a point where we find ourselves comparing ourselves to others all the time and running in this never-ending circles, wasting time and trying to get accepted and praised by everyone around us, ignoring the important things in life like our relationships with those who most matter to us.

Directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton who managed this film brilliantly, and starred by a group of talented actors including Abagail Breslin (Oliver), Paul Dano (Dwayne), Steve Carl (Frank), Alan Arkin (Grandpa Edwin), Toni Collette (Shirley), and Greg Kinnear (Richard) who all did an outstanding performance and made a huge contribution in making this film one of the very few films, you just cannot help but fall in love with.

This film made it to the Academy Awards, winning Best Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin, for his outstanding performance), and Cast. It also won many other awards and was nominated for the best picture. It’s an extraordinary piece of art.

https://revyou.com/uploads/thumbnail-960/1602055187103Little_Miss_Sunshine-2.webp Little Miss Sunshine - Movie Review

The storyline starts with the whole family heading to this beauty pageant that their daughter, Oliver, just got into and has been obsessed with. They don’t want to go but there’s no way out.

Frank’s brother, Richard, is a suicidal gay adult that can’t be left alone, Grandpa Edwin helps Olive with the dance so he has to come, the mother (Shirley) has to go with her little daughter obviously, and Frank (The father) is the only one who can drive the minivan (which is the only mean of transportation they could find).

Dwayne, olive’s brother doesn’t want to come but they promise to go to this camp in return, so it turns out to be an extremely entertaining family road trip. How this dysfunctional family is controlled by the American Dream and capitalism and each is so self-absorbed to even notice one another.

They get into a lot of trouble, fight and make up along the way but still make it to the beauty contest. Oliver performs a little dance to the song “Let me freak”, and it’s so inappropriate and weird, but the whole family supports her and gives her love back and forgets that they resent each other.

This film is about the characters and the mess and beauty of the complex relationships that exist within any given family. This is a great film where actors have done amazing performances to support a perfectly written story.

The soundtracks of this film are awesome, the drama is just the right amount, and this is a really well-directed film. You will not regret watching this!