“Life is one beauty pageant after another.”
Watching Little Miss Sunshine, I cannot help but think that Olive, despite getting kicked out of the contest, truly is “Little Miss Sunshine.” Her optimistic demeanor and childlike innocence proved to be a contrasting feature to the rest of the family. At times, her innocence proved to be thorny, as when she bluntly points out to her heartbroken uncle that falling in love with another boy is silly. Still, most of the time I noticed that Olive’s innocence softened hearts and made those around her come out from self-pity, such as her brother who discovered that he was color blind and would never be able to fly in the air force. Therefore, I think it was very appropriate that Olive was always wearing some shade of red. Whether it was her red head band, red head phones, or red jersey, Olive stood out from the more subdued tones of her surroundings, just as her personality stood out from everyone else’s.
Contrast Olive’s bright red attire with the tired blue shirts in which her parents are first seen, and one can begin to see the visual message that the director is trying to send. Olive is young and vibrant, her parents are tired and jaded, and her brother and uncle (both dressed in black and white) are pale and emotionally bland. Through the use of color, the director is showing us at the beginning of the film the different planes of development (emotional, character…) on which the different family members reside. Olive and Grandpa, who is always seen with his black fanny pack, are at completely different ends of the spectrum: young and old, innocent and experienced, kind and crude, sweet and salty. Still, they complement one another very well. Likewise, Uncle Frank and Dwayne seemed to be paired with their shared room and similar color coding: black and white. Both intellectual, they appear to be at the same level of introversion, looking inwards at themselves, not enjoying the people around them. In addition, the parents are pictured in the opening scenes in the same shade of blue, both tired and distressed by the many oddities of their life. Finally, the van: bright yellow, it contrasts (somewhat ironically) the tense and somber mood of many of its passengers. Yet, the yellow provides a breath of fresh air, a sense that there is hope for this very dysfunctional family.
Truly, I think that no one character stood out as greater than the rest, and no character could really stand alone without the rest. Together, the total sum of the characters made up the family, however strange and dysfunctional. We only notice how optimistic Olive is when we see how depressed and gloomy Uncle Frank is. We only notice Grandpa’s crude mind when we see the oblivious innocence of Olive. The acting was fairly well done in this movie, though it really was an ensemble role. Each person had a part to add to the whole, and no one person bore the weight of the whole story. Rather, each person had oddities to add to the family’s dysfunction: mom is a closet smoker, grandpa uses cocaine, Uncle Frank is depressed, dad is failed entrepreneur, Dwayne does not speak, and the van has a broken clutch and an annoying horn.
One thing I really liked about this movie is that it did not sugar-coat the rough parts of life, but reflected them as ugly and garish as they really are. Sometimes, annoyances and garish colors make us cringe, and it is no different in the movie. Grandpa is far from an ideal character: he is a drug addict and promiscuous old man, yet can speak the sweetest words of encouragement to his granddaughter. Dwayne says he hates everyone, and yet he has a heart for others, as when he tells his sister (through writing, of course), to hug and comfort their mother after Grandpa passed away. Drugs, depression, suicide, teenage detachment, homosexuality, fast food dinners, broken cars, stressed marriages: Little Miss Sunshine seems to take all the irregularities of family life and roll them into one messy family. There is no doubt that the Hoovers have problems, and lots of them. Still, there can be room for laughter and even joy. Working to start the car together, we actually see a smile on Frank’s face. Dwayne actually has a conversation with another person, and apologizes to his parents.
As our everyday life, there are some really ugly colors (the van…) in Little Miss Sunshine, but there are also really beautiful ones (the scenery during their travels). “Life,” says Dwayne, “is one beauty contest after another.” For many people, this may be the truth, and perfection may be the only way to live happily. Still, for the Hoovers, as for most of us, life is a mix of beauty and ugliness, joy and sorrow, bright colors and drab. Little Miss Sunshine demonstrates well how to capture a snapshot of this mixture.
Sam's Film Musings 