I've been dying to talk about this movie so much, I made a website just for it.
But seriously this movie is perfect.
I've told my cofounders/friends to maybe avoid putting a rating until the end of these reviews, just so people take the time to read the work they did instead of skipping it. You, however, can skip this one. Especially if you haven't seen it, because you really ought to drop what you're doing right this second. I was watching it with my mom and my little brother less than a week ago. Couldn't stop thinking about it.
I'm listening to the soundtrack's main theme as I write this. Before I forget to talk about it, this is one of the most emotional themes I've ever heard in a movie. It perfectly conveys how broken all six of the main characters are but also how sympathetic each of them are, and the hope that gives us as an audience that they can be "fixed." More on that later.
Again, go watch this movie if you haven't so I can talk spoilers below. Last chance.
I'd describe this movie as a black comedy. When you watch the opening scenes of this movie, you'll see why. Although, admittedly, I wasn't sure it was going to have a good ending.
The opening scenes perfectly describe each of the characters' main problems; the father (Greg Kinnear) preaches about ways to attain success to a classroom of five or six students, the grandfather (Alan Arkin) is snorting heroin in his room, and the uncle (Steve Carrell) sits alone in a hospital wheelchair, seemingly upset that he failed to kill himself.
All of these personal flaws and struggles intersect during the next scene at the dinner table, when they decide to go on the trip. The heart of the story, 7-year-old Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin), asks her uncle what had happened to him. "Classic," I thought to myself. "How are they gonna dance around this topic?" And then, to my surprise, her mother (Toni Collette) up and explains that it was a suicide attempt, and then the uncle continues to elaborate on it further. Meanwhile, her older brother (Paul Dano) sits silently in angst, having taken a vow of silence. These people are weird, and the creators go lengths to show us.
Again, Olive is the heart of the film. These early scenes are so uncomfortable, but it's all part of the master plan concocted by screenwriter Michael Arndt. By the way, Arndt won the Oscar for this movie. He also wrote Toy Story 3 and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. He is also credited with writing Star Wars: the Force Awakens, which worried me for a second. After some research, turns out those pretenders Lawrence Kasdan and JJ Abrams just started "rewriting" his script. Shame on them.
The reason I say "master plan" in regards to these uncomfortable opening scenes is that, eventually, you learn to see the good in these characters. The grandpa, early on in the road trip, talks brazenly and swears up a storm, antagonizing everyone in the car. He's racist, sexist, homophobic, a heroin addict, but he's got a sweet spot for Olive.
And then he dies! Middle of the story and he's dead after snorting some more heroin. I thought maybe they'd bring him back or he'd spring to life. It was extremely sad, but I like a story that doesn't pull its punches.
Maybe my favorite scene is the most uncomfortable one. The brother, upon realizing he's colorblind, and therefore unable to achieve his dreams of becoming a pilot, has a complete meltdown in the backseat. He slams the wall, there's screaming, and it ends with him running out of the van, down the hill and letting out his first words of the movie: "FUUUUUCK!!!"
Despairing and unwilling to listen to the words of his mom, it seems like the family is out of options until someone suggests that Olive go talk to him. The mom, like me, starts to say that it's a bad idea. But Olive doesn't miss a beat. She just starts walking down the hill to her brother and the camera is forced to follow.
When Olive gets to the bottom of the hill, she doesn't say anything at all. No persuasion or words of encouragement, she just rests her head on his shoulder and in about ten seconds he's cured. They walk back to the van and get on with their life. And what a still shot this is, right above. Wow.
That moment got me good. I felt the tears well up as soon as she started walking, and that hasn't happened to me in a minute. I was trying to figure out why that moment got me so good: maybe I related to the brother; maybe I'm a softie; maybe both of those; I don't know exactly. Olive totally reminded me of Phoebe from Catcher in the Rye, which is one of my favorite books ever. If you made me put my finger on it, I'd deflect and tell you about how nice it is to have my younger siblings home from college.
Well anyway.
Little Miss Sunshine surprised me a ton. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but certainly not a masterpiece. This movie delivers on all counts. Character development, strong themes, acting, music, filmography. The only thing I could come up with as a criticism is that some characters get more development than others. Moments where I thought Toni Collette's character could have had more depth or Steve Carrell could have used more screen time. I guess I'll have to watch it again to be sure---poor me. But overall this is a beautiful movie that nails the big moments but also gets the little moments right. If there's other movies like it, let me know.
5/5
by Anthony
7/13/2026