Little Miss Sunshine: Unraveling Its Characters

Front (L-R): Sheryl and Richard. Middle (L-R): Olive and Frank
Back (L-R): Grandpa and Dwayne

What do you get when you put a heroin addict grandfather, a suicidal uncle, an emotionally-unstable brother, a self-righteous goal obsessed father, an overworked mother, and a cute bubbly daughter in one ride? Definitely a crazy bumpy road trip! 

One of the strongest points of the movie, Little Miss Sunshine, is the smooth revelation of its complex characters. Each of them is seamlessly intertwined in the movie’s plot contributing to the central conflict of the movie—the failure of the family to realize how  much they should value each other. Below are my two cents on the components of each

complex character.

   
      · Olive- Chubby and bubbly. This girl has been dreaming of winning a beauty pageant not for the glamour but for the scholarship. Raised by financially-challenged parents, Olive still maintains her aura of positivity with the influence of her “happy-go-lucky” grandpa.   

      

· Richard- Olive’s father who tries too hard on selling his “9-step Refuse to Lose Program,” a principle that does not work even for himself. Frustrated with his heroin addict father, Richard strives hard to become successful and expects his family to be one too. However, he’s been a complete loser all throughout the movie until the part he decided to secretly transfer his father’s remains at a hospital. (I was screaming, “Way to go Richard!”)  

    

· Dwayne- His over-all appearance screams hipster/weirdo to me. Dwayne seems to be a society hater who decided to be mute all his life after realizing he has no more hope for humanity. Although hateful, he still values his family as depicted in the scene when he asked Olive to hug his mother.

· Frank- Homosexual nerd of the family. Competitive as a Proust scholar, Frank almost killed himself after being beaten by his ultimate enemy in academics and love. He empathizes with Dwayne’s condition as much as his and finds hope in life through Olive’s positivity.

 

    · Grandpa- Living life with no regrets since the day he was born, perhaps. Grandpa’s closeness with Olive sparked the girl’s determination to pursue her dreams. Grandpa’s attitude is that of a teenager’s YOLO (You only live once) principle. He must have been deprived of teenage experiences when he was younger. 

· Sheryl- most problematic family member. She’s been overworking herself to meet ends. She appears to loathe her husband’s 9-step principle, of stereotyping people as winners and losers. Sheryl remains compassionate to every member of her family despite their indifference.

Plot can intensify the viewers’ interest and attention but a film’s characters can live forever in the audience’s hearts. Little Miss Sunshine is one of those movies that imprint its characters’ souls to my memory. I may forget the movie’s story but I will surely remember Olive in the eyes of every little girl I will encounter.