The Dysfunctional Family: Little Miss Sunshine

The 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine follows the journey of the Hoover family as they travel cross-country for a Californian beauty pageant. The movie explores the relationships between six family members and their complex lives. The Hoovers decided to squish into their, now iconic, yellow Volkswagen to fulfill Olive’s dream of winning a beauty pageant. With them being crammed together in a small space for prolonged periods of time, dysfunction is bound to arise. Bickering is another character in the film, as combining a drug-addicted grandfather, stressed mother, over-achieving father, suicidal uncle, mute brother, and highly enthusiastic daughter together creates a recipe for disaster. 

Over the course of the film, the family overcomes obstacles thrown at them and learn to accept life for all of its messy realities. This non-nuclear family is faced with challenges from the get-go. All the characters who seemingly have no common interests are forced together simply because of their relation to each other. Their lack of common ground fosters resentment, which unravels throughout the film’s runtime. Sheryl had her son, Dwayne, from another marriage, Richard married Sheryl, and together they had Olive. With them lives Sheryl’s brother, Frank, who just attempted suicide, and Richard’s father, Edwin, whose heroin addiction serves as a key plot point in strengthening the family bond. The issues depicted of drug abuse and suicide are not taken lightly, yet the film is able to come at them with a comedic approach, which makes it more digestible for audiences. That is how most of the film is portrayed to the viewers, showing uncomfortable moments rooted in reality. When tension is right on the brink of a fight breaking out, a joke is cracked and resets the tone of the conversation. This is a continuous occurrence throughout the road trip.   

For most of the film, no one in the family had any change in their character from when we were first introduced to them. It takes Edwin, the grandfather, dying from an overdose for the family to finally change their outlook on life. Richard had an epiphany: his strict binary of winners and losers has not aided him once in his life. His ideology had caused detriment to his children, especially Dwyane, as there was a constant desire to please. Instead of focusing so much on being a winner, he chose to be more carefree in his approach to life. Sheryl learned she cannot control everything– she must let go. Richard’s death taught her that no matter how much you plan, life is going to be unpredictable, and you must learn to be adaptive rather than shut down when faced with adversity. 

Dwyane undergoes the most drastic transformation out of all his family members. When first introduced to him, it is told that he has taken a vow of silence until he gets accepted into the US Air Force Academy. However, once he realizes the dream he has been working towards for years will not come to fruition as he is color blind, he begins to freak out. He undergoes a panic attack and utters his first words of the whole film. His remarks are hate directed towards the family and how he hopes to never be like them. After consolation from Olive, he collects himself and apologizes for his erratic behavior. This setback allows the entire Hoover family members to grow. They see the error of their ways and make the conscious effort to change. The glue which held them together for so long and halted the family's fallout is Olive. Her can-do attitude brought light to the darkened family. If it were not for her optimism, the family would have fallen apart long ago. 

The film concludes with the Hoover’s making it to the pageant after a hectic journey. Olive is able to live out her wishes and perform for the crowd. Her performance of “Super Freak,” which was choreographed by her grandfather, shocks the audience. This is the ultimate test for the family. Will they let the embarrassment of this dance consume them, or ban together as one and support Olive? Luckily, they choose the latter and join her on stage knowing full well that her chances of winning are completely lost. This culmination of events displays a growth and change in the family. While we see a deeper connection being formed within their dysfunction, it is not fully solved, nor will it ever be. Although, there is now at least understanding and acceptance between the Hoover family. 

This movie allows for audiences to get a glimpse at a realistic depiction of complex family dynamics and how those members navigate the daily struggles of life. The film portrays the Hoover family’s denial, discovery, and eventual resolution with dysfunction. They are guilty of multiple forms of dysfunction, with the most pressing ones being substance abuse, emotional detachment, and conflict. The main issue the Hoovers face is a lack of communication. No one was on the same page on what they wanted out of others and their own life. They were staying silent and would lash out when their mind could not be read. It took the youngest out of all of them, not yet corrupted by the world and influenced by the family, to see how they should act and approach life. Along their journey, they learned how to use the tools of communication, understanding, and acceptance to help them achieve a common goal. Now they will be able to efficiently convey what they are feeling and no longer bottle up their emotions, the act which first led to their severe dysfunction. The Hoovers have seen their wrong doings and made the conscious choice to be present everyday and appreciate the family that they have as those are the strongest bonds one can have.