Any film that has managed to keep my attention through numerous viewings and still entertains in such a way deserves a 10.

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2011)

Three things can basically sum up Little Miss Sunshine: hilarious, inappropriate, beautiful. Little Miss Sunshine, directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, is a genuinely brilliant movie that manages to be indecorous while never being truly out of line.
The story follows the Hoover family travelling to California so their little girl can enter a beauty pageant. The running joke throughout is that Olive isn't especially "beautiful," at least in the pageant-queen perspective. Accompanied by the uncle, grandfather, and brother of Olive, she and her parents drive their yellow camper van across the southwest with bizarre occurrences following them all the way. From the hospital and the motel to the pageant itself, Little Miss Sunshine is a non-stop journey of laughter and emotion.
Every member of the family from Grandpa to Olive is superbly acted, making it impossible to not get sucked into their lives. The relationship between Grandpa and Olive is particularly interesting, while Grandpa is crass and unapologetic when in the company of the rest of the family, if Olive is there, he is kind and sweet. He clearly has a lot of love for the young girl and doesn't want her to become aware of and burdened by the family's various issues.
Every member of the family has their problems, from the heroin addiction of Grandpa, the career problems of the father, the depression of Frank and Dwayne's dream to be a pilot. Each of these is dealt with throughout the film and add extra dimensions and explanations for their actions. Their goals are all seemingly crushed due to different reasons although all the events bring the family closer together. The father is trying to enhance his career by promoting his "9 Steps to Success", however, it fails to materialise, threatening the family's finances. This irony is wonderfully exposed using a few key scenes and the money issues of the family are shown throughout.
As the film climaxes, the underlying event has been the beauty pageant, and the dance Olive is to perform. The Grandpa has been coaching her and we have small hints throughout as to what it will entail yet when it finally gets round to showing the performance, you will be in fits of uncomfortable laughter. I can't do the dance justice in words, but take it from me, it is well worth the wait and personifies the film entirely. All I have to do is mention the dance routine to a friend and we are in hysterics.
"What is your daughter doing?" "She's kicking ass, that's what she's doing."
Lastly, the soundtrack, oh my word the soundtrack, Little Miss Sunshine has without doubt, my favourite audio backing of any film. The tempo of the songs rises and falls at the perfect moments and echoes the mood of the characters. Performed mostly by DeVotchka, it is soothing and melodic, precisely what is needed in such a film.
Any film that has managed to keep my attention through numerous viewings and still entertains in such a way deserves an A+.