Little Miss Sunshine

Positive—This is definitely not a film for everyone. However, for discerning adults (young and old) this film is well made, well acted, and an absolute joy to watch. My favorite thing about the film is that each character, no matter how depraved, grows as a human being. There are valuable everyday lessons to be learned through this film.

From a moral standpoint, the movie is not nearly close to being appropriate for children. The material in the film is very open and straightforward in displaying themes of drug use and sexuality, but some of this is necessary for later character growth. The character of the grandfather is responsible for about 90 percent of the objectionable material in the film, but even then most times the family realizes that his behavior is inappropriate and it is acknowledged as being the wrong thing to do.

Another great thing about this film is that it elicits every possible emotion from the viewer. I was mad at characters, my heart broke for characters, and I laughed aloud at characters several times throughout the entire film.

The thing about a film like this is, there’s so much positive you can take away from it. A family of six individuals (five of which don’t care about anyone but themselves) not only bond together but learn things that will change the way they think, act, and live.

At the end of the movie are the characters Christians? No. Do they repent of their sinful ways? No. In a world of depraved men and unbelievers, this would be an unrealistic expectation for a secular film. A reasonable yet lofty expectation for a secular film like this is to see characters that are real, and to show them living through trials, and ultimately finding redemption. An unbelieving world doesn’t want to hear about Christ, but they love to hear about redemption (look at some of the great movies of all time: “Saving Private Ryan,” “Shawshank Redemption,” “Citizen Kane,” “Casablanca,” etc.…). It is our jobs as Christians to help others see the connection between human redemption and the ultimate redemption in Christ. We do this through the way we live and act, and movies like this can help us if used with caution and discernment.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 5
—Daniel Thompson, age 23

Positive—We live in a fallen world and yet there are songs, films or moments which can deeply reach us and touch or inspire us incredibly. I have to believe these moments come from God. We don’t have the power to limit how He will choose to reach and teach us. For some, films can act as a parable—demonstrating a story or purpose that can be greatly profound. “Little Miss Sunshine” is, in fact, such a film for me. Is it morally superb? NO. It also doesn’t pretend to be. It is rated R. It is honest in it’s reasons for the rating. There is no pretense that this is a “family” film, It isn’t. And truthfully, most kids wouldn’t really “get it” anyway.

“Little Miss Sunshine” is the story of a family. Plain and simple… The story of a family that, though fictional and well-acted, comes across as real. Many of us can relate to the antics, annoyances and moments. There are many offensive things from plot points to brief drug use (NOT at all glorified) to language to talk and images of pornography and sex. It’s not for the light of heart. It also isn’t for people who don’t enjoy a good “off the wall” comedy. If you find yourself drawn, though, to quirky comedies, this will make you laugh so hard your gut hurts. And, as the credits roll, you will realize that in the midst of your tear-enducing laughter, you were likely touched and inspired by it’s poignancy.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 5
—Misty Wagner, age 30

Positive—This is the BEST film of the summer, possibly the year! I loved every minute of it. It’s a film about a dysfunctional family, yes, but the film embraces the value of family like no other film that I have seen in recent years. With that in mind, I will say that the directors of the film said that they clearly aimed to make a film “not about family values, but the value of family,” and that statement couldn’t be closer to the truth. This is NOT a “family” film, so do not take anyone under 17 to go see it. The language is pretty harsh, and there are many mature themes throughout the film. Some people may be shocked to discover what Olive’s “talent” is at the end of the film; I thought it was hilarious, but if they can see past a few flaws that the film has, mainly in the profanity department, they will see what a wonderful film it really is. The characters are three-dimensional, and we care for every single one of them, even the vulgar, heroin-addicted grandfather. I loved this film, and I hope that others will at least give it a chance. The Hoover’s aren’t the perfect family, but seriously, does the perfect family even exist?

All in all, I highly recommend this film with caution. I took my mother to it, and if she can handle it—she’s one of the most discriminating viewers that I know of—then anyone should be able to get through it. However, you must remember that it is rated R for a reason, so if you’ve read this review and you go see the film anyways, then you really don’t have cause to complain about what you see/hear. Go see it! It’s great!
My Ratings: Offensive / 5
—Adam Renkovish, age 24

Positive—This was one of the better movies I’ve seen this year. The grandpa was a little hard to take, pretty much given over to depravity, although he overcame his depravity in little moments with his granddaughter and his son. That was kind of a positive thing as well, because it makes me think about how we all have a dark side that shows itself from time to time, but that doesn’t mean we are totally written off from showing any goodness towards others. I wish when the grandpa was encouraging his teenage grandson to be promiscuous, that his grandson had responded with wisdom, which some teens would, by writing out something that would have showed how foolish it is to be promiscuous. The acting was perfect. What a perfect cast for the parts. I love thought-provoking movies about families and relationships, and seeing the ugliness and the beauty and accepting both. I loved the conclusion with Olive’s dance which I thought was al so perfect for trashing the ridiculous child beauty pageant world!
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 5
—Leslie Ann Forgie, age 48

Positive—This film is a look into the lives of one family. They are an unbelievably disfuntionaly family, but we must admit, those families do exist. This film portrayed a hurting group of people and while there was much left to be desired morally, we must remember that not all films must be moral in order to send a powerful message.

I don’t think any one person, Christian or otherwise would look at this family and envy their relationship or strive to be like them. This is a character piece that focuses on each individual and deals with a great many issues. Sure, these issues are not all concluded in a nice, neat little package with “Jesus Loves Me” wrapping paper, but does it need to be in order to send a message to believers and non-believers alike?

Many folks commenting on this movies have said that it sends many bad messages, and yes, there are many “sinful” things going on in this movie, but they are portrayed (most of them) in a way that makes them undesirable. We can’t expect non-believers to live Christian lives, nor make Christian movies, but we can find good in them. A non-believing parent may watch this film and it would quite possilby make them rethink their family life. They might find that what is true for the family on screen is somewhat true for their own family. It will inspire change. The family learns to love and appreciate eac hother in the end, and while they don’t end up jumping onto some evangelical bandwagon, they do find the importance of family.

That is a message that can be seen and appreciated by people of all backgrounds and religions. Now, I agree that this film will not appeal stylistically to everyone, and it should not be viewed by teens under 17, but just the same, it is a brilliant look at what a family should not be… it is up to us to figure out what one should be. We can’t always have everything spelled out for us.
My Ratings: Average / 5
—Vaughn, age 21

Negative—There is no question that this is a clever movie. The characters are well-defined and quintessentially quirky. Each role is delivered superbly. But it’s the story line. Humor is eked out of an extremely dark plot about a family going to extraordinary lengths to get a little girl to a beauty show. The events along the way are in very poor taste. Extremely immoral messages abound. Although I appreciated the laugh out loud humor in a number of places, I left the theater feeling gloomy. There was not a bit of virtue in the plot, except maybe for the family’s growing appreciation for each other. This is not a movie I want to remember or recommend.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 4
—Halyna, age 60

Negative—This is a well-made film that has its funny moments, but in reality, it’s just a moral nightmare. I understand that people are human and humans are prone to make mistakes. However, this film takes the cake. It should NOT be viewed by teenagers. Although Steve Carell’s character is gay, I believe that he steals every scene he’s in.
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive / 4
—Shannon, age 25

Negative—A complete letdown, despite one or two funny bits. The film couldn’t make up its mind whether to be a comedy or a meaningful film and fell uncomfortably between the two. However, it might have been more enjoyable, but for the foul language throughout and Alan Arfkin’s delight in pornography, which he has put into his unwitting grandaughter. The ending was neither a send-up of the ridiculous child beauty pageants, nor did it give much hope that the resolution of the family would last. It left me totally depressed.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 3
—David Littlewood, age 59

Negative—Every review whether positive or negative has rated this movie Offensive or Very Offensive. I, as a believer cannot be “entertained” by such material. It made me feel ill. After tolerating all the depravity of a bored Hollywood exec. in the opening scenes, we turned it off after the grandfather is going on his tirade about how the grandson should be “f***ing” all the young girls. What we put in our hearts and minds is what comes out. I believe this was toxic junk that shouldn’t be swallowed for a fleeting moment of 'entertainment.'
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive / 3½
—Heather, age 29

Negative—I truly must be out of touch with most of America because I really detested this film. I found it to be incredibly depressing and boring. It’s as if a small band of Hollywood elitists sat around to devise a film about what they think the average dysfunctional American family might be like, but in truth, probably reflected their own wierd Hollywood lives.

I could have tolerated the little beauty queen (who was realistic) but then the writers threw in every negative stereotype they could think of into the mix: a cocaine-addicted porn-loving grandfather who uses “f___” every other word and teaches his little five year old how to striptease and his grandson to have sex with every woman he can, a teen that hates himself and his family, a cop who gets all gushy when he sees hard core porn magazines, and of course, the sweet and wise gay man (most gays are portrayed as the heros in this type of movie) that attempted suicide because his lover ran off with another man.

This completely delusional family fumbles their way through one after another of their depressing foibles until the movie culminates in their onstage rebellion against the pageant officials who tried to kick them out because no one really wanted to see a round little ugly untalented girl do a striptease.

There was nothing redeeming about this movie. Any of the characters who were enlightened, basically learned to shun the real, sane world and revel in their own bad behaviors and attitudes. This was a typical Hollywood “in your face” film.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 3
—T Endicott, age 52

Positive—I’m a little tired of people missing the point. Not only with this movie, but with so many other offensive movies. Some of them do, in fact, contain messages, and we’d be better off to look for those message instead of drowning in f-words. This film is about family, not beauty pageants or gays or a little girl doing a strip tease. It’s not, so please stop seeing it that way.

The film centers around a stressed-out-messed-up family and they’re stressful road trip to get the youngest daughter (an overrated but still wonderful Abigail Breslin) to a beauty pageant in California. On their trip, they’re individual lives continue to fall apart, and their van breaks down too.

Steve Carell plays a gay man suffering from lost love and his fall from scholarly prestige. He even runs into his old lover at a gas station, in an awkward scene.

Greg Kinnear should have gotten nominated for his role as head of the family. He’s obsessed with his self-help program he calls “Refuse to Lose,” but he can’t even sell it, and the fear is that they’ll go bankrupt. Alan Arkin is by far the most sordid and obnoxious character, (save for one brief sweet moment) kind of like I was watching a Judd Apatow movie about teenagers. He plays the grandfather, and did I mention he’s a heroin addict? His acting is good, but Greg Kinnear was better.

Paul Dano plays the silent son who likes wearing Nietzsche’s face. Toni Collette is also wonderful as the mother, the character trying to keep the whole “family operation” from collapsing. Given all these characters, there’s plenty of offensive content. Language was plentiful, but not excessive, and didn’t blur the film’s message. The sex was not incredibly extensive, but still more explicit than I would have preferred. Most of it’s resigned to the grandfather’s rants about sex and women, and there one image of a porn magazine that showcases rear nudity on the cover. Apart from that, there’s Breslin’s infamous strip tease, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared. To be honest, it was more disgusting, awkward, and obnoxious than it was “sexual.”

There really isn’t any violence to speak of. So let’s tie all of this into message. Guys, this movie is about the family. It’s about how families need to stick together and stand by each other when times get rough, and that’s exactly what the characters forget until the end.

It’s so easy to “abandon ship,” or at least hurl insults (there’s one heartbreakingly sad scene where Dwayne finally breaks his vow of silence to rant regretful insults at his loser family). But while those insults are probably true, this movie teaches us an obvious, age-old lesson: insults don’t get us anywhere. The strip tease scene had two purposes. The first was to provide a moment for the characters to turn away from tearing each other down to building them up. It might seem horrifying to us that a family condones and supports such a performance, but again, that’s missing the point. They do find redemption. They find each other.

The second purpose of that scene was to display how much modern beauty pageants objectify young girls and make them up to look like twenty year-old dolls. Another subpoint of the movie showcases that that’s not what true beauty is. True beauty isn’t a ten yea-old made up to look like an eighteen year-old. That’s disgusting, and the movie makers obviously felt the same way. True beauty is on the inside, and the movie makers obviously felt the same way. That’s the point of the movie, folks. Stop just seeing the cussing and the sex and actually look for a discernible message. You won’t find it in every movie, but you will find one right here in “Little Miss Sunshine.” I love this movie. God Bless
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
—Joseph Hughey, age 17 (USA)

…Some fairly harsh language and heartbreaking situations are spread across the film… Unlike many such movies, we do see the characters grow as they move beyond the bickering and selfishness…
—Stephen McGarvey, Crosswalk

…Annoyingly (and somewhat predictably), it’s the most depraved character who doles out the most nuggets of wisdom. …In a frustratingly long and depressingly vulgar scene, Grandpa drills into Dwayne the ‘importance’ of sleeping (and that’s not his term for it) with ‘lots’ of women, especially while he is still a teenager.…
—Steven Isaac, Plugged-In

…on-the-mark performances from all six members of the hapless Hoover clan…
—John Urbancich, The Cleveland Sun News

…packed with wit, heart, real characters …the quirkiness in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ comes from honest characters, not the desperate-to-be-different caricatures in such films as ‘Garden State’…
—Bill Muller, The Arizona Republic

…whimsically incisive …Beneath its oddball veneer, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ is a knowing injunction against a society that requires every American to be a winner, when simply being a human being used to be enough.…
—Steve Schneider, Orlando Weekly

…the film is so much fun, it’s almost impossible not to enjoy the journey…
—Toddy Burton, Austin Chronicle