Little Miss Sunshine

Coolest vintage tribute poster ever!

Since I'm a few hours away from my birthday I chose to post my favorite movie, which is not an exploitation flick as many would think. Today's entry is about the most beatiful heartfelt and yet entertainingly funny movie ever made about a family getting through, and you know what? I love my family, and I do command you to love your family too, they're all that matters in life after all. Little Miss Sunshine, a masterpiece released in 2006 is a perfect sinergy movie: The best acting talents, a great script, original storytelling, even more original characters, awesome photography, vintage vibes, comedy, an outstanding soundtrack and best of all a lesson we should all live & teach.

What's great about this movie is the way a simple main story tells us plenty more of human issues from birth to death. Characters are all written to represent a different human issue in a different stage of life. That's what makes this movie so great, because it doesn't focus our attention into one single main character as a whole and only significant element like many films use to do these days. The main story follows the steps of a not so disfunctional family that goes after the one goal her youngest member pursuits: Becoming Little Miss Sunshine at all costs. So, instead of talking about the storyline from start to finish as I use to do, I will talk about the characters and the topic they represent instead.

A visual representation of the heart of the family.

The happiness of innocence.

Little Olive Hoover: 

She's the youngest most innocent character in the movie. Her goal is to become the next little miss sunshine to become a professional model. Her character represents the idea of being a kid: Innocence. Being innocent means we're not afraid, we have no prejudices of any kind, and we see life as a big game which wants us to enjoy and be happy at all times. She's definitely the element that binds the family together.

Richard Hoover:

Richard is the man in the family, he's the father of Little Olive & Dwayne and the husband of Sheryl Hoover. His character represents the word "effort" literally, he's not a quitter he's a guy convinced of his abilites, he wants to win, he wants to make it. Of course, that's something he's not really good at, he goes by the book all the time giving advices, making him look a little arrogant at times. He's afraid of failing, afraid of not making it. He doesn't want to dissapoint her wife & kids.

One goal: Together.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, we still love you"

Dwayne Hoover:

 The teenager in the family. He represents teenage obsessions. He has made a pact to himself to not speaking to anyone until he fulfills his dream as an airpilot. He's obsessed with everything Nietzche's related, and his ideas, thoughts and actions are all determined but what he reads about his mentor. He's definitely the flesh & bones representation of a teenage looking to fit into the world with a personality of his own, defined by his idols. A typical teenage case. 

Frank Gingsberg:

Sheryl's brother. He's a succesful university teacher specialized in literature & lingüstics, he's the self proclaimed n°1 smart brain around town. The problem, if that can be called a problem is that he's completely gone mad because his boyfriend left him for another more interesting man. That causes him to try to commit suicide, failing miserably. He's not a man of actions, he's a man of words, useless. He impersonates the kind of adult that wants to be smart, look smart & be succesful to others, unfortunately he's just the opposite of that impersonation. He's helped by his sister and becomes a part of the Hoover pack on their way to Olive's beauty contest. He's the living example of someone that spent a life telling others what to do but never had the time to tell himself what to do about his own issues. He becomes healed once he accepts life goes on.

Grandpa Edwin Hoover:

The elder are always thought to be the wisest of the pack, is this the case? I don't know for sure, but one thing for sure is that he's not willing to live in a retirement house as society tells him to live at his age. So, yeah he smokes cracks, sniffs coke, fucks sluts, likes barely legal teens and curses all the time. He represents a man who spent his life by the book and one day woke up feeling he didn't do a shit for his life. He impersonates the following "It is never too late to do what you wanna do" He also coaches little Olive a dancing number for the Little Miss Sunshine contest.

Gee, I wish I had one of those VWs!

Run for your goals.

Sheryl Hoover:

The mother, the wife, the woman. She's a simple woman, and that doesn't mean she doesn't do anything important in the film. She's the family keeper, she controls every mess made by her family and her character keeps everything cool brothers.

So yeah, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris directed a timeless masterpiece, a movie that tells you to stick together with the ones you care about no matter how many difficulties you find on your way to hapiness.

Here's the movie trailer: