Success, Body Image, and a Heroin-Addicted Grandpa

Yes, you read the title right. In the film Little Miss Sunshine, we follow the Hoover family, a family of six consisting of Richard, the father who is obsessed with his failing self-help business, Sheryl, the mother trying to keep everything in the family together, Dwayne, the oldest brother who is dedicating his life to silence until he becomes a jet pilot, Olive, the little 

sister who loves beauty pageants, Frank, the uncle who was just released from a mental hospital after attempting suicide and Edwin, the heroin-addicted grandfather. Seems like a lot right? This family description is so far from the normal American family we picture in our heads, yet I’m sure a lot of us can relate to some of their struggles. In Little Miss Sunshine, spouses and BAFTA nominated directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris explore the norms hidden within an abnormal family. They do so by telling the story of the Hoover family and their journey to successfully get Olive to the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant in California. One societal norm that is explored in this film is the idea of beauty standards. As mentioned the plot of the movie surrounds the need for the Hoover family to get Olive to her beauty pageant. Throughout the movie we see Olive grappling with different aspects of beauty and how she views herself. She compares herself to the models on TV, debates whether she should eat ice cream, and looks in the mirror at her stomach as she competes against other girls at the beauty pageant. All of these self deprecating thoughts are forming in her mind at only 7 years old. The movie evokes thoughts on how our society pushes these beauty standards on girls at such a young age, something we probably have missed because it seems to be so normal now. Another point of society that the film picks at is people’s fascination for success, and how they define it. Today, the norm for society is defining success as having a lot of money, fame or being very well respected. In the film Dwayne longs to be a well respected jet pilot, Olive dreams of being the best pageant queen, and Richard obsesses over making his self-help business successful. By the end of the movie we realize they each ultimately fail at reaching these goals, but they don’t find themselves in a pit of disappointment for long. Failure leads them to see what success really is. They all are surrounded by those that love them and care for them and realize that there is no failure in that. Dayton and Faris do an excellent job of exploring and then challenging societal norms through the story of the crazy Hoover family. And if my small description of some of their shenanigans doesn’t persuade you to check out this movie, you can check out the trailer here!