Failure and Little Miss Sunshine

Made in 2006, Little Miss Sunshine is what every heartfelt movie strives to be and contains an original quality that every filmmaker wishes to create. What makes Little Miss Sunshine so original is its ability to mix serious issues such as divorce, bankruptcy, addiction and even suicide with a gentle lightness filtered through comedy. It doesn’t demean, idealize or turn these issues into jokes, but instead, puts them into a different perspective that makes for a thoughtful plot.

There are several different themes in Little Miss Sunshine but nothing as obvious as its bold distinction between losers and winners. From the very first scene, it’s clear that failure plays a key role in the plot. This is distinguished through the main characters, the Hoover family.

There’s Richard Hoover, the narcissistic father who views losers as disgusting despite failing to support his family. There’s Sheryl Hoover, the stressed out mother who is trying her hardest to hold her family together. There’s the cynical Uncle Frank, Sheryl’s suicidal Proust scholar brother. There’s Edwin Hoover, the carefree, party-loving grandpa, addicted to heroin. There’s Dwayne Hoover, the angsty, angry and silent teenager, who has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a pilot. And lastly, there’s seven-year-old Olive Hoover who is oblivious to her dysfunctional family and hopes to win the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant.

This beauty pageant makes the family go on a road trip, where each of them is forced to confront their own personal issues, all that connect back to the theme of failure. This confrontation is most important in Richard Hoover, the movie’s philosophical antagonist. Throughout most of the movie, Richard strongly preaches against failure, but eventually, comes to terms with the things he has no control over.

I don’t want to give away too much of the movie, so here is a more in-depth video on the topic (albeit with spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pe-SoGTgR4

Little Miss Sunshine is one of my favorite movies. I find the plot to be fast-paced, the characters to be well-developed, the emotions behind each scene to be real and the lesson to be lasting and meaningful. It tells the viewers to be themselves without coming off as cliche or cheesy. I definitely recommend Little Miss Sunshine to any bored movie watchers.