The Explicit Meaning of Little Miss Sunshine

THA 2301 001

Assignment 1

The Explicit Meaning of Little Miss Sunshine

In the movie, Little Miss Sunshine, a family embarks on a journey from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Redondo Beach, California, in order to help the main character, a 9-year old girl named Olive, pursue her dream of winning a pageant.  Richard and Cheryl, Olive’s parents, decide that it is necessary to take the entire household, which consists of Dwayne, Olive’s teenage half-brother who has taken a vow of silence until he is accepted into the Air Force, Edwin (Grandpa), Richard’s heroin-addicted father, and Frank, Sheryl’s gay brother, who comes to live with them after a suicide attempt.  

The family climbs into an old Volkswagen bus to make their way to the pageant.  At the beginning of the road trip, the clutch goes out on the bus, and because of time restraints, they do not have time to have the bus repaired.  Thus, they decide to push-start the bus for the remainder of the trip.   Later on, the horn on the bus becomes stuck and the passengers have to deal with an incessant honking for the rest of the journey.  

Throughout the trip, several devastating things happen.  Richard receives news that his business venture has failed, Frank has an encounter with the student who broke his heart, Grandpa dies of a heroin overdose, and Dwayne discovers that he is color-blind.   Despite these unhappy situations, the family soldiers on, desperately trying to give Olive her opportunity at happiness.

The medley arrives at the pageant a few minutes late, however, and Richard has to beg for admittance to the pageant.  Olive is nothing like the other girls in the pageant but decides to compete anyway.  In the talent portion of the contest, Olive reveals a dance routine that only Grandpa had seen.  She dedicates her performance to him, but the crowd quickly responds in disgust as Olive obliviously performs an inappropriate routine.  Determined to support Olive and protect her innocence, the family joins her on stage so that she can complete her performance.   After dealing with the aftermath of the pageant, the family reflects on the passing of Grandpa and unites in the bus to make their way back home.