Review of Little Miss Sunshine

Because I Talk About Things That Aren't Politics Now.

NOTE: I have decided to write about things other than politics purely for the purpose of artistic virtue, and the fact that I don't want to be forever one-dimensional. My style and skills are net yet suited to this task, but hopefully they will develop over time. Enjoy and endure.

The film Little Miss Sunshine is wrought with strong themes. The course of events and the character development each serve as a metaphor for finding purpose and overcoming obstacles in life.

The most basic theme of the film is that people cannot fully control the direction of their lives. Life moves ever forward but because of unintended events, you cannot control the direction or the outcome of your life, no matter the ferocity of your ambitions.

The most poignant example of this theme is the mechanical difficulties of the families Yellow VW. When the clutch goes out on the family bus, it makes the speed difficult to control, and they cannot slow down without coming to a stop. This greatly limits the family's ability to take off and go as they please. They aren't allowed to slow down and savor, or make rational movements. The bus appears to have to go the same speed the entire time. This ultimately leads to the bus crashing numerous times. The message here is that life moves forward, but we don't get to slow down and ponder our choices and that even if we could slow down and make "better" choices it would be futile because our environment is surely affecting us in ways that are impossible to calculate.

The theme carried through in the lives of each of the characters. All of the characters have encountered personal conflict with the fact that their lives had not gone as planned, but each of them comes to accept it. Their catharsis gives them the freedom to move on with life and to accept the misery that shapes the soul and gives them wisdom.

Richard: His "Nine Steps" plan continues to fail. Obviously this is ironic because his nine steps are an apparent path to achievement. The nine steps turn out to be little more than unhealthy ways to cope with disappointment. Though Richard's "winners attitude" moves the family forward, it proves to be a failure in that planned outcomes cannot be attained. It also puts forward an unhealthy perspective that life has "winners" and "losers" and that winners get what they want, and that losers do not, but Richard appears to grow a bit past such.

Dwayne: Works tenaciously toward getting into the Air Force Academy, and it turns out that due to circumstances beyond his control, that he could never qualify.

Grandpa: His drug habits get him kicked out of an idyllic living situation.

Sheryl: Her dreams are tied to Richards and she endures the same suffering as he does.

Frank: Frank is the top Proust scholar in the U.S.! Frank's passions then lead him toward a chain of events that make it impossible for him to reclaim his old life. Even the result of his suicide attempt is unintended.

Olive: She did not even come close to winning the pageant, but came out better for doing her own thing. The audacity of her routine was a more authentic version of the bizarre and disturbing subtle sexualization of children that we usually see in such pageants. Her experience is way more valuable for having turned out as it did. This also ties into the theme "audacity pays off."

The discussion between Frank and Richard at the beach is a great summary. Things do not turn out as we plan and this often leads to suffering and such is okay because it is better to develop as people than to remain in a false and complacent happiness.

One other theme is the importance that other people play in our lives. I don't want to beat this one to death, but the catharsis of each character was fully dependant on other characters. The bus didn't move unless they all took part.

The third theme is, audacity pays off. Olive's routine, Richard's decision to sneak the dead grandpa out of the hospital, the notion that they should continue the road trip with a broken clutch, and the participation of the family in Olive's final act. It goes to Neitchzie's belief that a person cannot be great unless they disregard cultural expectations and other social norms.

Little Miss Sunshine is a story that is sure to make you smile. I encourage you to watch it again and maybe it will make you think, and perhaps you too can be audacious enough to reevaluate your benchmarks for success and happiness.