Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

“A real loser is somebody that’s so afraid of not winning, they don’t even try.”

What’s it about?

A dysfunctional family take a road trip to California for their daughter to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine state competition.

Who’s in it?

Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Paul Dano and Alan Arkin.

Why should I watch it?

+ Great ensemble cast who gave great performances
+ Which was handy because this is very much a character driven movie
+ Big fan of Carell, he plays a more serious role but still makes a few sarcastic jokes
+ Arkin will crack you up as the grandad
+ À la Bad Grandpa or Dirty Grandpa
+ Breslin comes across extremely likeable and adorable
+ She really was an awesome child actress
+ Kinnear nails the judgemental dad but a “loser” in denial
+ Seriously, some of the shit he says will make heads shake and eyes roll
+ But he does have a great character arc
+ Dark humour in conversations between the family, including topics like suicide and jailbait
+ Shockingly hilarious dance routine (Bad Grandpa really copied a lot from this movie)
+ It holds a mirror up to beauty pageants and its hypocrisy
+ Has a great message too
+ You don’t have to be a winner. As long as you are yourself, you’re not a loser
+ Or something deep like that
+ Also, there’s a cameo from Breaking Bad’s Heisenberg and Frank before they played cops and dealers

Why shouldn’t I watch it?

– Some parts were too convenient
– Like the gas station scene and meeting with Stan Grossman
– If you’re a big fan of Honey Boo Boo

Anything else?

Really can’t stand kids beauty pageants man, but hey, it’s a great way to give your kids unnecessarily high amount of pressure, sexualise them and teach them that looks mean everything, I suppose. Oh yeah, the film is a charming, original and quirky little indie flick. You should totally check it out.

8/10

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