Life is more meaningful when you’re with a family.
In life, we either win or learn. There are things in this world that need not perfection to succeed but use inspiration to compete with life’s obstacles. A perfect example of winners and learners are the Hoover Family. But who are the Hoovers? The Hoovers are the focus of the film Little Miss Sunshine that depicts a dysfunctional family composed of people with different attitudes and personalities. I am not familiar with the actors of the movie but I did my thing on the net to complete this movie review of mine.
In character study, Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) is a struggling motivational speaker who is greatly obsessed with winning. So far, his hopes of building a good career haven’t happened. His 15-year-old stepson, Dwayne (Paul Dano), is determined to become a pilot. He reads Niestzche (a German philologist, philosopher, cultural critic, poet and composer, who wrote several critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science) and has taken a vow of silence as a way to focus himself on his goal.
Grandpa Edwin (Alan Arkin) is a drug addict who has been evicted from his retirement home and currently lives with his son, Richard. He regrets not hving done all the things that young man should have done. Sheryl Hoover (Toni Collette) is a workaholic wife and mother yet very loving to her family. Her brother Frank (Steve Carell) is a gay who is recovering himself after trying to commit suicide (I can really say because of the white bandages around his wrists). All of them come from different walks in life but when the youngest child Olive (Abigail Breslin) is called to join the ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ beauty pageant, they all help Olive in achieving her dream of winning the pageant and hop in the old yellow Volkswagen Van to travel to California.
Amidst the old Volk’s increasing mechanical problems during the road trip, the Hoovers ease out their personal setbacks. When the Volk’s clutch breaks early in the trip, the family finds out that they must all push the van until it moves and then they run and jump in. The Volk’s horn eventually starts honking constantly by itself. Figuratively this depicts the family members’ character growth and emotion-building, as one dilemma after the next affects each of them. The pushing of the van on the road shows that cooperation within the family can motivate each one in battling life struggles. The van is each of them. The road symbolizes life and their ‘pushing’ represents the family’s cooperation.
Eventually, the Hoovers stop beating to fix their own lives and instead draw closer together in focusing more on Olive and her little dream as it becomes clearer to each of them that Olive’s hopes of success begin to reflect what they truly need in life. Olive may not have won the pageant but she brings the sunshine in the Hoover Family. Little Miss Sunshine is full of ups and downs, and laughter and sadness as well – the realities of life and family.
One thing I appreciate in the drama movie is that the shots are accurate and expressive. The various shots of the characters are descriptive. I can recall how I describe each of the roles because of what I’ve seen on screen. The use of close-up shots adds depth in the story. I like the sequence of events because they’re continuous.
What’s eye-catching in the film is the yellow van which appears several times. The color Yellow really brings out the sunshine of the film. I want to commend Little Miss Sunshine to everyone who values family at all times. I believe that being in a family always means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life no matter what failures and success you encounter.
Her Critique 