Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Directors:

Jonathan Dayton
Valerie Faris

Writer (WGA):

Michael Arndt (written by)

Release Date:

18 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Where's Olive?

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.

Plot Keywords:

Hatred | Hospital Waiting Room | Watching TV | Friedrich Nietzsche | War Wounds

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 41 wins & 46 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sex and drug content.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Malaysia:U (DVD) | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Italy:T | Chile:TE | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R (certificate #42333) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Germany:6 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Ireland:15A | Brazil:14 | Australia:M | Japan:PG-12 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R13 | Finland:K-11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Chandler, Arizona, USA

Company:

Big Beach Films

Trivia:

While filming in a convenience store in Santa Clarita, CA a Paul Dano look-a-like walked in. Dano was late and unaccounted for so everyone thought the look-a-like was Dano. After he explained that he was not Dano, they took some pictures and sent him on his way.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While driving down highway, at one point police car escort can be seen out the back window of the van.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Features 77th Miss America Pageant (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Martini Lounge

Hilarious! I loved this fun, but slightly dark comedy

We were happy to have had the chance to see this at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. I loved the cast: Greg Kinear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano and Steve Carrell were ALL marvelous as the dysfunctional family. Little Miss Sunshine refers to a pageant to be held in California (the movie never states where the family lives, but most of the road scenes were definitely in the Phoenix, Arizona area. (added 8/2/06: I know now that the movie is set in New Mexico, for those of you who are interested in that sort of thing!)

The story follows little Olive, a normal child, who by a fluke wins her way into the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. The family decides they must accompany her in their old VW bus, so a road trip ensues.

The final third of the movie, which deals with the actual pageant, is by far the funniest part of the film. It illustrates, with great hilarity, the frightening people who are involved in child pageants. You can't help rooting for Olive, who is refreshingly normal amongst the frighteningly plastic other contestants.

(After discovering that I was in the (opposite of loved it) category on IMDb, I changed my subject line, because this was one of the best movies I've seen all year!! I LOVED IT)

This is NOT a movie for children. After reading through some other user comments, I have to say I'm dismayed by the amount of people complaining about the F word. This movie is rated R, mostly because of its frequent use of the F word, along with some drug use. If you do 5 minutes of research before you go to a movie, you should educate yourself as to WHY a movie is rated the way it is. If you are offended by swearing, then, if you go to a movie that is rated R because of language, be prepared to be offended! Okay, I'm off the soapbox. This is NOT a movie for children.