Little Miss Sunshine – Review

Little Miss Sunshine is one of those movies that have both sugar and spice. It is about a family, a family that hasn’t yet learnt to live together. Everyone here has a problem with how the other behaves. The only common feeling that keeps them together is probably the affection for their little daughter Olive, who is blissfully blind to their grudge against one another.

As it happens, Olive qualifies by default into a children’s beauty contest and for some reason or the other, everyone has to accompany her to California. An overworked mom, a dad obsessed with self improvement techniques, a step brother who has taken a vow of silence to fulfil his dream of becoming a pilot, a heroin addict grandpa with a foul mouth, and a gay uncle who had almost been dead with a suicide attempt- all of them set out for California in their Volkswagen T2 Microbus, bickering, fighting and taunting each other all the way.

But somewhere, hidden beneath their rough skin and rough talk, lies a heart welling with love for each other. And as the events unfold, some of them really sorrowful, they grow closer and we discover their strength and solidarity as a family. The climax comes at the beauty pageant where every contestant apart from Olive is dressed in sexualized evening wear and heavy make up ready to perform their elaborate dance routines.

What happens when our simple plain Olive arrives on stage? Does she win? No, she doesn’t. But then there’s more to it. The suspense is not in winning. The story is in fact about celebrating loss. Find out how!