Little Miss Sunshine

2006

Director: Jonathan Dayton / Valerie Faris

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

Key Elements: Characters – Lines – Story

My Review:

Zany characters go on a zany mission and reveal authentic family tenderness.

If there’s anything to take away from this movie it’s that, even though we are all ridiculously imperfect, we can be there for each other. This family, though dysfunctional on the surface supports, encourages, and comforts each other.

When Dwayn realizes he’s colorblind and can’t go to the Air Force Academy, Olive comforts him.

When no one likes Olive’s performance, her family stands up for her and claps along.

When Olive worries she’s not pretty, her grandfather reassures her.

And Dwayne and Frank find consolation in each other as they face failure.

There are, of course, more examples.

Zany enough to be entertaining, and touching enough to be meaningful, the characters, lines and heart of this movie make it a fun one.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• There's two kinds of people in this world, there's winners and there's loosers. Okay, you know what the difference is? Winners don't give up.
• Who is that? Nietzsche? So you stopped talking because of Friedrich Nietzsche? Far out.
• No one gets left behind! No one gets left behind!
• Grandpa, am I pretty?
  - You are the most beautiful girl in the world.
  You're just saying that.
  - No! I'm madly in love with you and it's not because of your brains or your personality.
• Losers are people who are so afraid of not winning, they don't even try.
• Go Hug Mom
• You know what? Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another.
  School, then college, then work... Fuck that. And fuck the Air Force Academy. If I want to fly, I'll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest
• I wish I could just sleep until I was eighteen and skip all this crap - high school and everything - just skip it.
  - You know Marcel Proust?
  He's the guy you teach.
  - Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that
• She's kickin' ass... that's what she's doing.

Stills: