Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

"You do what you love, and fuck the rest"

T his movie is about believing in yourself, even if the whole world wish you to be someone else. This movie is about sticking with your family no matter how damaged they are. It's about being there when your brother/sister needs you, it's about forgiving when they let you down. This movie tells you that even though your dreams are shattered, broken in pieces, life has to go on. You gotta move on, find another dreams to keep you living. Never let anyone tells you what to do with your life, because you are what you are. Don't be afraid to be hurt, because that's the art of growing up. You learn nothing from being happy.

Olive, the little girl, has a big dream of becoming Little Miss Sunshine. Her damaged family supports her. They ride together in a yellow Volkswagen to California, where the pageant is held. During the ride, a lot of things happened. Dwayne, the big brother, discovers that he's colorblind, and his uncle, Frank, tells him that he will never become a jet pilot with colorblindness, which prompts him to break his vow of silence (which he's been taking for months) and give up his dream. Frank, a homosexual scholar of French author, Michael Proust, has been temporarily living with the family after a suicide attempt. In the middle of the ride, on a gas station, Frank encounters the ex-boyfriend and his new boyfriend. The grandpa is a foul-mouthed World War II veteran who is addicted to heroin. He has a close relationship with Olive. At the hotel the family is staying he tells Olive that she's not a loser and that she's beautiful and he loves her so much. The mother is a chain-smoking woman who is as troubled as everyone else but she always tries to keep her family calm and sane. The father has a Type-A personality, who despises 'losers', telling everyone in his family to not be a loser. It affects Olive, resulting in self-doubt.

I personally love the scene where Olive tries to comfort Dwayne when he discovers his colorblindness by sitting with him in silence. Sometimes, a company is all we need. Just being with someone, doing nothing.

Olive is unlike every girls in the dressing room. She wears no make up, they do nothing with her hair, she wears big dorky glasses, and she's 'fat'. When her uncle, father, and brother realize that she's out of her league and they fear she'll be humiliated, they try to stop her. But Sheryl, the mom, stops them and tells them that they 'gotta let Olive be Olive'. I think this is amazing. A mother who believes in her daughter. By letting Olive be Olive, it doesn't mean that she wants to see Olive gets hurt. It's much more than that. She lets Olive learns by making mistakes. I think that's very brave. Most mothers will never let their daughters be humiliated in public for the sake of their daughters' 'safety'.

This movie is so full of values that we often forget. In this modern world we tend to set ourself apart from our family. This movie reminds us that family is the first thing in the whole world we should be sticking with. I think no words can describe this movie enough. It's a must see for everyone.

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