LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

REVIEWED BY SHANNON H.

Our rating: 1 out of 5

Because of: language, sexual implications, thematic elements

Rated:

No one has the power to determine what kind of family they are born into. Either you are born into a normal, everyday household or into a dysfunctional nightmare where personalities clash. Little Miss Sunshine is about a family whose dynamics are questionable, especially since the youngest member is a seven year old surrounded by people who could benefit from a night in a psychiatric ward.

Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin) is a seven year old beauty queen wannabe who spends her time in her room listening to music and indulging in all things feminine (cutesy clothes, kiddie pop music, etc). Her mother, Sheryl (Toni Collette), is a smoker who is married to a judgmental husband, Richard (Greg Kinnear), who developed a 9-step system to success and is trying desperately to sell the idea. Richard’s father, known as Grandpa (Alan Arkin) is a foul-mouthed drug addict who frequently snorts heroin. Dwayne (Paul Dano) is a teenager obsessed with Frederich Nietzsche and set on becoming an Air Force pilot and chose to take a vow of silence until his dream is achieved.

One day, Sheryl brings home her suicidal gay brother, Frank (Steve Carell) after he was hospitalized from attempted suicide. Apparently, his lover (and one of his graduate students) left him for another professor at the university he taught at. Things began to get worse for Frank and he tried to kill himself. Olive is accepted as a finalist for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in Redondo Beach, California. The caveat: the Hoovers live in New Mexico and flying is out of the question since they can’t afford it. The next day, all six of them pile into an old, VW van that requires to be pushed every so often because of a busted clutch. They have two to three days to make it from New Mexico to California to register for the Little Miss Sunshine contest and the car ride is no picnic. Relatives are bickering, Grandpa finds it acceptable to cuss in front of Olive, and Richard’s 9-Step Plan doesn’t sell well, which may affect him financially.

There is no violence other than a man trying to physically remove a young girl off of the stage at the beauty pageant whose performance was less than stellar. Cussing involves several F-words, the use of the s-word, the name of God in vain, etc. Richard chastises his father for using the F-word in front of Olive but then uses it to vent his frustration. There are no sex scenes but one man encourages a teenager to be promiscuous and sleep with several women. A man buys pornographic magazines at a convenience store (they are seen later in the back of someone’s vehicle by a police officer). Girls as young as five and six are seen parading in bikinis at the beauty pageant. Also at the pageant, a little girl performs a somewhat-risqué dance to the song “Superfly." It’s implied that two men have a homosexual relationship. The drug content is disconcerting, though most of it is implied. A man is seen snorting heroin in a bathroom and another time in a bathroom of a hotel.

There is hardly any Christian content in this film other than someone suggests that God decides when its time for people to die and go to Heaven. Dwayne is a die-hard Frederich Nietzsche fan who is seen wearing a shirt that says “Jesus was wrong.” The family doesn’t embrace God or Christ, which may explain as to why their dynamics as a family is so out of proportion. It’s well made and the screenplay is very well-written. It would’ve been an excellent film without the sexual content, the vulgarity, and the skepticism. The characters in the film realize there are some desires and dreams that may be hard to pursue, but it’s just too vulgar for my tastes. Christian morals are frowned on as everyone accepts Frank’s homosexuality. I really liked Little Miss Sunshine, but the film's faults prevent me from recommending it.