Not your typical trip to a beauty pageant.

Rating: 8/10 (26 November 2016)

As the movie opens Sheryl (Toni Collette) is picking up her brother, Frank (Steve Carell), from a mental hospital, after his failed suicide attempt due to a recent breakup with his boyfriend. Sherl's husband, Richard (Greg Kinnear), is bankrupt and trying to create a new career for himself as a motivational speaker.
When Sheryl brings Frank into her home, he is forced--after being discharged from the hospital--to bunk with their son, Dwayne (Paul Dano). Dwayne is in the midst of a self-induced vow of silence in partial preparation for his goal of getting into the Air Force Academy.
The rest of the household consists of Richard's incorrigible father, Alan Arkin—who has been kicked out of Sunset Manor--and Sheryl and Richard's seven-year-old daughter, Olive (Abigail Breslin).
With the dream of someday becoming a beauty contestant. Olive has been working on her talent routine with grandpa. When she learns that the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California has an opening, she wants to compete.
The adventure begins when the entire family reluctantly gets into their old bright yellow VW bus to go from Albuquerque to LA. As the trip progresses, everyone becomes increasingly committed to getting Olive to the contest on time. The mishaps along the way are unexpected and interesting. But, this is no National Lampoon-like vacation-type movie.
The movie gives us an irreverent jab at child beauty contests and presents us with grandpa's sage advice to his dysfunctional family--- concisely shouted to his grandson, Dwayne while on the trip—'Screw every woman you can get your hands on!!' (But, he didn't use the word, 'screw.') (Olive has her music headset on so she is the only one in the bus that isn't within earshot of grandpa's advice.) The cute seven-year-old Olive wins your heart over as she helps to bring her family together by trying to do the impossible: win the Little Miss Sunshine contest without any rehearsals.
I'm not sure if this Sundance-sponsored movie is destined to become a classic. But, I found it to be entertaining and fun. Much of its humor is irreverent or gallows humor, and I found myself laughing out loud many times. I think that one of its greatest assets is its unpredictability. I guess I am not alone in my love for this movie. It has also won several critical acclaims, in several categories