Oldies but Goodies: 'Little Miss Sunshine'

There are plenty of things that we cannot control in life, but one thing we can control is our attitude, and sometimes, that can make all the difference. With a well-known cast including Steve Carell and Alan Arkin, many people may start watching "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006) with the idea of it being a fun, family comedy, only to find it filled with philosophical commentary that inspires feelings of hope and optimism.

The bulk of the storyline centers around the Hoovers, a New Mexico family taking a road trip to California so that its youngest member, Olive, can participate in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. On the surface, the family is completely dysfunctional. Edwin, the grandfather, is seen snorting heroin in one of the opening scenes; the mother, Sheryl, passes time by smoking cigarettes. One of the kids, Dwayne, has taken a vow of silence until he is old enough to join the Air Force. The film makes a point of showing all of the character’s flaws while protecting the innocence of the youngest member of the family, Olive.

For the most part, the trip is an utter disaster. Edwin passes away in his sleep, the clutch on the family Volkswagen breaks and Richard — Olive's father and Dwayne’s step-father — fails to close a deal in attempting to sell his self-help techniques to a wide audience. From a birds-eye view, everything goes wrong for the Hoover family in quite an absurd fashion. But throughout, the group is still able to enjoy each other’s company in small but largely important ways, though they do not always recognize their significance to one another.

For one, after the car breakdown, they realize they must all help push their Volkswagen from behind for it to accelerate and then try to jump in while on the run. As they work together to pile everyone in the moving car, the family laughs and jokes with one another, leaving everyone with a smile on their face as they manage to pull it off.

During the film’s climax at the beauty pageant, Olive’s performance is not well-received by the audience. She shows off her “grandfather’s moves” to the tune of Rick James’ “Super Freak” (1981) in what turns out to be an inappropriate dance for an event of its nature. As the audience expresses its disapproval, the Hoover family joins the entirely naïve Olive in dancing on stage to show their support. Considering everything they had been through by that point and their unconditional love for Olive, the Hoovers stand in the face of a microcosm of high society and make a fool of themselves, and they could not care less. Sometimes, as "Little Miss Sunshine" exhibits to the viewer, it is nice to have some perspective on how the small moments we share with the people we love are the ones we truly live for, even if they are nonsensical and strange on the surface.