Warning, this article may contain spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

Little Miss Sunshine, released in 2006, has a runtime of around one hour and 41 minutes and has won two Oscars; however, it has 72 award wins and 112 nominations total.

The main cast holds some eye-catching names, including Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, and Alan Arkin.

A good movie is made of a multitude of things; however, I think the cinematography and social commentary, along with the strong acting, set this film apart from the rest and make it great

The movie begins with an intriguing start with the topic of mental health as we see Steve Carrel’s character, Frank, in the mental hospital after a dark time.

Personally, I have mainly seen Steve Carrel play comedic and humorous roles, but seeing the change of character throughout this movie ended with me having a newfound respect for him, as I was able to fully see the complex character despite my previous knowledge.

Frank then moves in with the Hoover family, which consists of Sheryl (Frank’s sister), Richard, Olive, and Dwane, causing more tension in the dysfunctional family. During this time, we learn that Dwayne has taken a vow of silence that he will keep until he fulfills his dream of being a pilot, which becomes an important fact later in the movie.

The plot starts moving as the family heads on a road trip to get Olive to the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant after learning she qualified. The VW Bus ends up breaking down, and they find out that it only works in certain gears, which becomes an iconic and significant part of the movie.

Throughout this road trip, many instances of conflict have occurred. For example, they address the idea of body image as Olive wants to order ice cream at a diner they stop at, but Richard makes a comment about the diets of beauty pageant winners. However, this ends up with everyone else ignoring Richard’s comments and conversing with Olive in a supportive way.

Then, once everything seems to be going smoothly and everyone’s getting along, Olive has everyone take colorblind tests to pass the time. This leads to Dwayne realizing that he can’t fulfill his goal; Franks says to Dwayne, “You can’t fly jets if you’re colorblind,”  which ultimately leads to his having a breakdown. It’s resolved by a bonding moment between Olive and Dwayne, and the family gets closer together.

They finally make it to the pageant, and Olive finally gets to perform! Olive performs her routine in honor of her grandpa Edwin, who passed away unexpectedly during the trip, which shocks the judges. In the end, Olive doesn’t win, is disqualified, and can’t come back.

Despite this unfulfilling result, which would usually lead to disappointment, you got to see each character grow and the family progress. Watching this for the first time gave me a new respect for movies that I hadn’t had before.

Throughout this movie, you constantly see dysfunctional families placing pressure on each other and people trying to be the best, resulting in some mentally harmful results. But then you get to see the family dynamic change as they start to accept their failure and be who they want to be. As said by Edwin, “A real loser is someone who’s so afraid of not winning that he doesn’t even try.”

The way that this movie utilized all of these components to drive the emotion and storytelling has me constantly rewatching, recommending, and ultimately rating it 10/10