Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.

Directors:

Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Writer:

Michael Arndt

Stars:

Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear

Won 2 Oscars. Another 68 wins & 67 nominations.

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

Storyline

In Albuquerque Sheryl Hoover brings her suicidal brother Frank to the breast of her dysfunctional and emotionally bankrupted family. Frank is homosexual, an expert in Proust. He tried to commit suicide when he was rejected by his boyfriend and his great competitor became renowned and recognized as number one in the field of Proust. Sheryl's husband Richard is unsuccessfully trying to sell his self-help and self-improvement technique using nine steps to reach success, but he is actually a complete loser. Her son Dwayne has taken a vow of silence as a follower of Nietzsche and aims to be a jet pilot. Dwayne's grandfather Edwin was sent away from the institution for elders (Sunset Manor) and is addicted in heroin. When her seven-year-old daughter Olive has a chance to dispute the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, the whole family travels together in their old Volkswagen Type 2 (Kombi) in a funny journey of hope of winning the talent contest and to make a dream ...

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Plot Keywords:

pageant | vow of silence | california | drugs | speaker | 

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Taglines:

A family on the verge of a breakdown

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Little Miss Sunshine

Filming Locations:

Acton, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$665,165 (Australia) (13 October 2006)

Gross:

$59,889,948 (USA) (23 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Big Beach Films, Bona Fide Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the diner scene, the four customers seated behind Sheryl (Toni Collette) and Richard (Greg Kinnear) are the parents of directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

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Goofs

When Frank is at the gas station and he starts talking to his former grad student, the pile of magazines he's buying change order. In the shots where Frank is trying stand in front of the clerk and the magazines, the blue on with the men is on top. But in the close-ups we (and the grad student) see that the white magazine with the women is on top.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Richard: There are two kinds of people in this world, winners and losers.

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Connections

Referenced in The Adjuster (2014)

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Soundtracks

You've Got Me Dancing
Written by Gordon Pogoda and Barry Upton
Performed by Inspiration
Courtesy of Kid Gloves Music

User Reviews

Simply perfect

Do yourself a huge favor and go and see this film and then tell your friends about it. It has no special effects!!! No HUGE stars (though Kinnear and Arkin are famous and perfectly cast) This film has just great characters, unusual but perfectly understandable circumstances,fantastic dialog, wonderful actors,stunning cinematography, effortless direction and seamless editing.This film was very well received by the audience I sat with. I laughed,I cried and laughed until I cried. I heard that this film only cost three million dollars to make...it just goes to show that tens of millions need not be spent to get a treasure. Go see it and be thoroughly entertained. This is one good old-fashioned movie for everyone over 13 (if you preempt the grandfather's language, which is really part of his character). Hope it gets some nominations!!!