When people hear the words ¨Family Film¨ they assume it´s going to be about a well-rounded respected family who all love and respect one another, well, that isn´t the case for Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s 2006 comedy/drama film ¨Little Miss Sunshine.¨

Little Miss Sunshine (Credit to Gideon Tsang)

The movie begins by introducing each character and their hobbies, The son, Dwayne, played by Paul Dano, seems to have an interest in the jets and decides to take a vow not to talk until he accomplishes his dream of flying one. Olive is introduced as the daughter, played by Abigail Breslin, Richard as the dad, played by Greg Kinnear, Edwin, as the grandpa with a drug addiction, played by Alan Arkin. The overworked Mother, Sheryl, played by Toni Collete, visits the hospital where the character of Frank, the uncle played by Steve Carell, attempted to take his own life because he fell in love with a man who left him for another man.

When the whole table is eating dinner Sheryl gets a call confirming that Olive is a contestant in the ¨Little Miss Sunshine¨ pageant, but the only problem is that it´s hosted in California. Once everyone *somewhat* agrees to take part in the ¨trip¨ they all shove into their yellow Volkswagen and start their journey from Albuquerque to California. The whole ride there ends up in chaos, their quirks all infuriating one another causing problem after problem, in the end, they do end up making it to the pageant but it doesn’t go as they expected.

The performances from each actor are amazing, but I believe Paul Dano gives it his all as the troubled teen Dwayne, showing emotion with a character who chooses not to express his words. The film did go on to win two Oscars, one for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Arkin) and the other for Best Original Screenplay.