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Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
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Overview
User Rating:
Your Rating:
Directors:
Writer (WGA):
Michael Arndt (written by)
Release Date:
18 August 2006 (USA)
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Tagline:
Where's Olive? more
Plot:
A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars.
Another 41 wins
&
48 nominations
more
NewsDesk:
(410 articles)
2010 Movie Preview: Part Two - From 'Kick-Ass' to 'Your Highness'
(From Rope Of Silicon. 7 January 2010, 12:55 PM, PST)
Kathryn Bigelow and 'The Hurt Locker' nominated for best feature by The Director's Guild of America
(From pretty-scary. 7 January 2010, 11:29 AM, PST)
(From Rope Of Silicon. 7 January 2010, 12:55 PM, PST)
Kathryn Bigelow and 'The Hurt Locker' nominated for best feature by The Director's Guild of America
(From pretty-scary. 7 January 2010, 11:29 AM, PST)
User Reviews:
Probably the best comedy of 2006.
more (810 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Abigail Breslin | ... | Olive Hoover | |
| Greg Kinnear | ... | Richard Hoover | |
| Paul Dano | ... | Dwayne | |
| Alan Arkin | ... | Grandpa Edwin Hoover | |
| Toni Collette | ... | Sheryl Hoover | |
| Steve Carell | ... | Frank Ginsberg | |
| Marc Turtletaub | ... | Doctor #1 | |
| Jill Talley | ... | Cindy | |
| Brenda Canela | ... | Diner Waitress | |
| Julio Oscar Mechoso | ... | Mechanic | |
| Chuck Loring | ... | Convenience Store Proprietor | |
| Justin Shilton | ... | Josh | |
| Gordon Thomson | ... | Larry Sugarman | |
| Steven Christopher Parker | ... | Teen Boy #1 | |
| Bryan Cranston | ... | Stan Grossman |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language, some sex and drug content.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
101 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
UK:15 |
Ireland:15A |
Australia:M |
Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) |
Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) |
USA:R (certificate #42333) |
Finland:K-11 |
Singapore:NC-16 |
Netherlands:12 |
Italy:T |
Argentina:13 |
Hong Kong:IIB |
Germany:6 |
Sweden:7 |
New Zealand:R13 |
Portugal:M/12 |
Canada:G (Quebec) |
Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) |
South Korea:15 |
Malaysia:U (DVD) |
Brazil:14 |
Philippines:R-13 |
Japan:PG-12 |
Chile:TE |
Norway:10 (TV rating) |
Iceland:L
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
All of the girls acting as participants in the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant, except Abigail Breslin, were veterans of real beauty pageants. They wore the same costumes, including hair and makeup, and performed the same talent routines as they had in their real-life pageants.
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Goofs:
Continuity: In the end when the Hoovers are pushing the bus, Frank takes his hands off the bus to get in. In the next shot, he takes his hands off again.
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Quotes:
Movie Connections:
Referenced in 2007 MTV Movie Awards (2007) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Til the End of Time
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FAQ
What did Dwayne's T-Shirt say?How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
What was the mother's dream?
more
more (810 total)
Message Boards
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Comedies about families usually come in one of two genres. Often featuring dysfunctional families (are those two words redundant?), they are either broad and goofy ("Cheaper by the Dozen") or dark and abstruse ("The Royal Tenenbaums"). Driving its Volkswagon bus down the middle of these two extremes is "Little Miss Sunshine", a comedy both inclusive and exclusive, one that some will get entirely, while others will whiff on to the same degree.
The title stems from a beauty pageant in which seven-year old Olive (Abigail Breslin of "Signs") competes. For a good portion of the film, the contest serves as a MacGuffin of sorts, putting an already odd mix of family members on the road in bizarre situations that call Vegas Vacation to mind.
But "Sunshine" is far more than the slapstick of "Vacation". It mixes humor both broad and subtle humor into a strange brew of comedy, poignancy, lessons, and life. Huge and deep issues are addressed, topics like death, dreams, and failure. Yet somehow the movie doesn't feel heavy. You'll walk out with a smile on your face because the movie sensibly touches on these issues, realizing that stuff happens and life continues, that the handling of adversity is often what defines people. And above all, there is family, which you're stuck with, for better and worse.
"Sunshine" may not grab you right away, which is part of its power. It burns slowly, introducing the family members to the viewing outsiders through observation, then putting the viewers in the bus with them as they enter a foreign world. All this is done without lapsing into melodrama and without losing steam as the movie chugs toward the climactic final scene, continuously building momentum along the way, before promptly getting out on top.
Rather crude at times, "Sunshine" is not a movie for children, nor is it for anyone who takes life or movies too seriously. But if you excel at finding the askance humor in life and film, then you will relish this offbeat look at a collection of family dynamics perhaps only slightly stranger than most, although definitely more extreme.
Bottom Line: One of the year's best, and likely its best comedy. 8 of 10.