 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Little Miss Sunshine
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 2006
Common Sense Media says
Ride along to dysfunction in quirky indie comedy.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this family road trip movie includes sexual slang and references to drugs, mostly by the grandfather. Pornographic magazines (only the covers are shown) and a comedic striptease figure into the plot. Characters discuss depression and suicide (Uncle Frank has cut his wrists before the movie starts; his bandages are visible). There are conversations about "winning" and "losing," as measured by financial success. A character dies about halfway through the film; the family wraps up his body and carries it in their van to their destination. Characters curse (several "f--k"s), and the mother smokes a couple of cigarettes.
What's the story?
The Hoover family decides to make the trip from Albuquerque to Southern California after starry-eyed daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) unexpectedly scores a spot in the regional Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. The whole clan -- sunny Olive; anxious mom Sheryl (Toni Collette); aspiring motivational speaker dad Richard (Greg Kinnear); feisty, drug-using Grandpa (Alan Arkin); cynical teen Dwyane (Paul Dano); and gay, suicidal Proust scholar Uncle Frank (Steve Carell) -- piles into their old yellow Volkswagen bus (which has become the movie's signature image) and hits the road. Naturally, that road is full of all kinds of obstacles -- including car trouble, lots of bickering, and even an unexpected death. But in the process of working together to help Olive make it to the pageant, the Hoovers come to understand each other anew ... or at least appreciate the fact that no one else could possibly understand them except each other.
Is it any good?
It's true that the family road trip comedy isn't exactly a new genre; nor are quirky indie movies about dysfunctional families all that hard to come by. But somehow LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE manages to combine the two into something fresh, engaging, and often hysterically funny -- with a dash of "aw shucks" poignancy to boot. There's nothing radically new in terms of storytelling or character development, but the film nonetheless succeeds thanks to its excellent cast (husband-and-wife directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris lucked out, casting Carell just before he hit it really big with The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and funny, tight script. There aren't any wasted moments in this movie; even the smallest action -- Frank buying the dirty magazines, for example -- turns out to matter down the line.
And then there's the finale. Ever since Little Miss Sunshine premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival (and was purchased for a record $10.5 million), the big beauty pageant finish has been making audiences laugh until they cry -- which is pretty much how the Hoovers seem to approach life in general, so it all works out in the end.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the way the Hoovers come to respect one another's differences. How does young Olive remind the adults of their lack of faith, innocence, and commitment? How does the beauty pageant serve as a metaphor for other competitions in the film -- say, between family members? How might Richard be more open to his family's needs, rather than trying to make them conform to his? Why do you think this movie -- a little indie discovered at the Sundance Film Festival -- did so well with audiences? What's it's appeal?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
great movie!
i loved this! i cant belive the age thing though. i first saw this when i was 11, and i thught it was totally appropite. whoever revied this ovsliy has never been to a middle school
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AGE
Didn't like this one...
I watched this movie with an open mind, but really didn't enjoy it at all. I realize that not all movies have to have a message, but this movie wasn't funny either. A dysfunctional family (to say the least) travels across the country to have their daughter participate in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. The family was very concerned to get their daughter to the pageant on time, but only the drug addicted grandfather took the time to prepare her -- of course, a recipe for disaster. The daughter was embarassed at the end, which was "solved" in the movie by the family making complete idiots of themselves. I found no value in the movie at all -- not entertaining and a total waste of time.
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AGE
SEXY but sometimes a bad influence
i dont really watch this movie much
but i suppose it the best acclaimed film in history.
however the grandfather is just a negative cacussion stereotype,
frank is a spoilt arabic like person who threatens to kill himself and pleasure himself to graphic sex.
the little girl is a sex god.
the teenage guy with black hair is a jerk
and the father is a person who cares only about getting to the pajent and winning.
but overall this movie counts better then that okay
movie based on beavis and butthead.
the environment however is hot and reminds me of the weather outside my house sometimes.
my final opinion is that this movie is the best in the world
and they should make a sequel.
even though it may not be appropriate for young kids
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AGE
Off 9- Iffy 10-12 On 13+
Liked it, but more in need of a PG-13 rating instead of an R one. This & Austin Powers should switch ratings. BTW, just saw it & it didn't kill me(look @ my age).
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Kid, 9 years old
January 16, 2011
AGE
Perfect for kids 3+
AWESOME!
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AGE
:)
Nothing's A PROBLEM....maybe the sex discussion is a little crude but they'll find it out sometime! GREAT MOVIE! BEST INDIE MOVIE OF ALL TIME TIED WITH JUNO...HAHA
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AGE
amazing. SUPER FREAK
excellent movie. but it has drug use, porn magazines and around 20 f--ks. one character failed in suicide. great movie though.
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AGE
Amazing movie, but inappropriate for young tweens and teens.
This isn't "just another family road trip comedy", as I thought it would be--this was DARK, QUIRKY COMEDY at its best. The acting was brilliant, the characters were unusual and the ending was touching and unpredictable (it made me cry). The grandpa said a lot of things (f-words, etc) that were probably inappropriate for younger watchers, and he used drugs, but they ended up killing him, which is a positive anti-drug message. Overall a beautiful movie, but be careful about showing even the edited-for-TV version to kids.
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AGE
Dark comedy domination
This movie was very good! I watched with my older kids and we all loved it! While the morals arn't good from any character-including Olive,mainly by naivety- the family all throughly loves each other(despite an earlier line"I hate EVERYONE"). Nothing my kids don't allready know about.
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| Studio: | Fox Searchlight |
| Directors: | Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris |
| Cast: | Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 101 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 26, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | December 19, 2006 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | for language, some sex and drug content |
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