Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - 🤯📼First Time Film Club📼🤯 - First Time Watching/Movie Reaction & Review 

I love how Miss California loved Olive's performance

"A functional family made up of dysfunctional people" is the best summary of this movie I've seen

Alan Arkin won an Oscar for this role. Michael Arndt also won an Oscar for his screenplay. The movie was nominated for Best Picture, and Abigail Breslin was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Fun Fact: Creepy guy was actually a long suffering beauty queen Dad, not a random dude watching kids in swimsuits. I'll also add that I love that Olive is basically the glue for the family. Everything is going to hell, but her optimism and gentle spirit pulls everyone up when they need it most. I mean notice how she is the only one that Dwayne doesn't lash out at when he snaps and she's the one who gets him back to the van with a simple hug. Damnit, who's cutting onions. So glad you guys reacted to this movie. It doesn't get the attention it deserves. So well written, such great actors, so funny, so much love. I'm glad you watched this film.

Love the scene where the family coax Olive into having the ice cream, including Duane, and going against the dad. Miss California telling Olive she loves ice cream is great, its clear she knows how she feels. And she's one of the two(other than the guy who helped them register)who loved her performance. I love the Grandpa, how he doesn't give a shit and how he comforts Olive when she's afraid of being a loser. His advice to Duane and how he says "politics"when she asks what they're talking about. Olive is the only person Duane doesn't chew out during his breakdown.

also love that the dad redeems himself by the end by not caring if she won or lost

I loved this movie. I loved how Pippin tried to console you during the pageant scenes. 🤣

I had to give Carell huge props for this.. An early serious role..I also really liked him in Dan in Real Life.

Yeah, the beauty pageant was cringey. The movie was telling the truth about these pageants. They sexualize young children, but when Olive does her routine, they're shocked, shocked, to find that stripping is going on in here. One of the many things I love about this movie is how it calls out how sick and hypocritical that whole business is. I also love how Greg Kinnear's character lectures everyone about what it takes to be a "winner" while being a "loser" himself (I put the words in quotes because they're his ideas, not mine).

Fun fact: Both Bill Murray and Robin Williams were optioned to play Uncle Frank, but the makers were trying to look for an unknown/working progress actor for the role.

Awwwwwww your little kitty cats so sweet he puts his little paw on you what a sweetheart

22:21 “I think we can *live* with that”. HIM saying that is so subtle, yet impactful and heartwarming. Beautiful beautiful film ❤️‍🩹

I laughed when the pageant queen/judge was digging Olive's dance.

This has to be one of my favorite movies of all time. I wish more people would see this. Casting is just top notch, even the small parts. Paul Dano is always amazing, and Steve Carrell delivers a serious role just perfectly. Everything works in this film.

I always considered one of the take-aways from this to be, is the view of what is considered to be truly dysfunctional: This crazy family that obviously loves each other and is there for one another, OR - the crazy families that dress their little girls up to look like sexualized adults and enter them in pageants? I also think it's hilarious that grandpa came up with her talent dance based on what he knew; obviously spending a lot of time in strip clubs 🤣. This is movie is in my top 5 all-time favorites! Great reaction.

“This makes me uncomfortable”. As it should…as it should😂

Carell's character reports that Proust at the end of his life said all the suffering he endured as young man was the best part of his life. This whole family suffered as we watched. But being a family and suffering together, THAT made it the best. It changes the loss into adventure that they shared. And that's the best part of one's life.

The DVD has a deleted scene/ alternate ending probably you can find on RU-vid of where the family steals the six-foot tall trophy on their way out.

If you want to see Greg Kinnear in another dramatic part. Watch "As Good As It Gets" starting Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson

One of the greatest payoffs in a film. You get a thousand clues all throughout this movie as to what the dance routine is going to be, but nobody really knows except Grandpa and Olive.

The officer that tells them they can go in the hallway is the 3rd actor in here from the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul Universe. Its Marco! Saul's best friend.

Matthew - they weren't "stealing a body." They were stealing THEIR body lol There's a difference! ;)

This is my favourite movie to watch when I'm down. It never fails to cheer me up. Great reaction! And I liked your discussion afterwards.

I had been thinking this movie would have a particular Indie-cinema feel to it, which it did not, and it proved to be the most endearing and feel-good irreverent comedy I could have expected. Such a great lovely film.

The soundtrack to this film is so good.

Y'all always have the most enjoyable closing thoughts but this one was absolutely the best, even when I thought nothing could beat Emily singing "Superfreak".

Because I adore Alan Arkin, I make a plea with you to react to Glengarry Glen Ross. A phenomenal stage play turned into a phenomenal movie with a stacked cast. Alan Arkin, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey (ugh), Alec Baldwin, and Jonathan Pryce. Set in the cut-throat world of real-state salesmen, the dialogue is amazing, and it brings a small story to huge life. The acting is *chef's kiss*

One of my favorite things about the scene with Olive and Dwayne, when she puts her arm around him, is that it honestly shows how strong Dwaynes morals are. He would have stayed there because nobody else in the family is innocent from wrong doing. Olive is TOTALLY innocent and thats why he still loves her so much, shes never been anything but genuine and real with him.

Olive's performance was age innapropriate, but so was all of the other girls'. That's the beauty of this movie. Those pageants are creepy as f

The absolute worst thing about your channel is that it isn't on Monday to Friday!! I am always so happy when your video's come on

The restaurant they stop at, the ice cream scene. Practically down the road from where I live. At one time it was a major chain restaurant but I at the time they shot this it had been shuttered for a few years. They restored the portion what would appear on camera and when done returned back to its shuttered state. Currently it's now Mexican style surf & turf eatery

The cat and the paw moment. LOL!

Another movie similar to this that you would like is called Sunshine Cleaning. Also has Alan Arkin again.

I loved yall's reaction! This movie is one of my favorites, I'm glad you guys enjoyed it! The pageant part is definitely really hard to watch but yes in the end it was more about their family than the pageant. Also Pippin is so cute! Couldn't stop watching him or her make biscuits! lol

Fun Fact, in some states (like Texas) you can do that with a body.

I saw this in theater when I was four years old. It's one of my first memories.

Many thanks to Emily, Matthew and Pippin! 🌞 I adore this one. Michael Arndt wrote it. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed.

Came for the movie, stayed for the cat.

Paul Dano did a helluva job playing young Brian Wilson (to John Cusack's older Brian Wilson), in the excellent "Love and Mercy," should you be interested.

Greg Kinnears character is exactly the same as my dad, with his facial expressions, anger, embarrassment, drive… it’s almost ptsd from my childhood. Until the 3rd act anyway. Kinnear deserved an Oscar for this.

Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin and Paul Dano...talk about a "stacked cast". XD

Clearly, "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" needs to be on the list.

In the scene where the family "steals" the body. It's not actually theft. By law, a family owns the mortal remains of a family member. Can dispose of the body in numerous ways, unless there is a local law against it.

I always think of the Volkswagen as its own separate character in the movie. It seems to be very similar to the rest of the family.

I love this movie, caring, loving and broken. One of the first movies I watched with my now wife..... I didn't know that her grandpa died a few months beforehand....

So this was supposed to be Steve Carrells first ever on screen performance, but the release was delayed, and by the time it finally released, he was a star with 40 year Old Virgin and The Office, therefore his stardom helped this little indie get more recognition than it would have

A rare new movie for the cinema sherpa 😊. I agree with your takes on the beauty pageant stuff. What gets me through it is watching how Richard reacts to the whole thing. The look of relief when Olive comes out looking relatively normal after all the painted children... I do always go refill my drink or whatever when Frank goes into the gas station store. 😳

One of my favorite movies. Such amazing satire, funny and heartfelt stuff all the way through too.

Great performances by everyone in this movie

I love Toni Collette.

The character Bryan Cranston played in the movie was named Stan Grossman and although he is not intended to be any relation the Stan Grossman featured in the movie FARGO, there are a lot of similarites between the two, so the writer/directors gave him the same name as an homage to the Coen brothers. This movie, by the way,, is one of my top ten favorites. And as you noted it does not in any way glorify child beauty pageants. What you didn't note, however, is that it does the exact opposite, it mocks them. These pageants have become popularized by women trying to live out the fantasies they never realized on their own by robbing instead their daughters of their childhood to make it happen. And Olive's dance, though not in the least bit lewd, pulled the veil off the whole business, exposing it for its underlying depravity. And in the process she got her family (totally dysfunctional at the start of the film) to finally pull together as a functional cohesive unit by the end. So in saying you wished it had a happy ending, how much happier an ending could it have had? But you could also see it on an even higher level as the crazy old Grandpa pulling all the strings to make it all come together as a last hurrah before he died. Was it intentional or unintentional? It really doesn't matter. Everything points to him as the architect. Alan Arkin, who portrayed him, incidentally, is a brilliant improptu comedian (coming out of the Second City tradition), one of my favorites. And you should check out some of his other movies if you have not seen any.. Specifically, the first screen adaptation of Joseph Heller's CATCH 22 (1970) is an absolutely must see for any movie buff. But some of my other favorites, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (1966), POPI (1969), FREEBIE AND THE BEAN (1974), THE INLAWS (1979) and STAND-UP GUYS (2012) are hilarious, too. And as you've seen from this movie Arkin is kind of like Christopher Walker in that he's also a very good actor and has done some great dramatic work as well, ESCAPE FROM SOBIBOR (1987) being a prime example.

The overall message of the movie isn't about winners and losers. It's about family. Family has your back. Through the good times, the bad times; when you're happy, when you're sad. Family always supports you, no matter what. The greatest moment was when the whole family is on stage dancing with Olive, who had more courage than anyone to go on that stage and perform that dance number. Awesome movie moment, just amazing.

The cat saw the cop he immediately flew 🤣

According to TV Tropes: The catalyst for the movie was a comment by Arnold Schwarzenegger that the people he hates most in the world are losers. The screenwriter Michael Arndt took offense to this comment, believing that everyone is a loser in some way, but that doesn't make them a bad person. He wrote the screenplay to refute that kind of black-and-white thinking.

"Leave the body" that is what i was screaming when i saw this the first time. just get it on the way back.

I don't know if you guys are readers, but the plot for this film is lifted directly from John Steinbeck's novel, 'The Grapes of Wrath'. If you think of Steve Carrell's character as a version of Tom Joad in TGOW, you'll see the connections.

When the movie got rough your cat was doing for you what Olive did for her brother.

I forgot how good this movie was

The success was coming together as a family in spite of all the failure and grief. Brilliant performances, brilliant movie, and it holds a place in my heart BECAUSE it shows how inappropriate those kinds of beauty pageants really are, lol. Thanks for the reaction/ review, can't wait to see whatever's next!

being an "Olive" when you were a little kid is a good thing. Beautiful, talented, smart, and caring is what I see her as. you seem like a really good person so I would be proud to say I was an "Olive" when I was a kid. my mom and i loved this movie, one of our favorites. awesome reaction.

Nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Picture Best Supporting Actor, Alan Arkin Best Original Screenplay, Michael Arndt. It won the latter 2. The funniest road trip movie ever made, as a dysfunctional family take their youngest daughter to California for a dance competition, but not everything goes according to plan.

Paul Dano is one one my favorite characters. Some people dont care too much for him because hes done a lot of uncomfortable broken characters, but he does emotion so well. Dont see a lot on it but def check out Love & Mercy of you dont mind heavier character stuffs

This is one of the strongest dark comedies (in terms of acting chops) out there. I'm glad you enjoyed it, but absolutely understand why Emily found it a one-and-done. #Title Enth-movie-ast, Im-movie-able object, Movietational speaker

Frank and Dwayne's interactions are kinda magical tbh. I mean, the whole movie is awesome. But those two...

Ya know, if you really like Paul Dano, you might wanna check out Ruby Sparks. A severely underrated movie of his.

Everyone was great in this, i felt that one scene Paul dano had was great.

Awwww!!! Pippen! Her Cat!! ❤

Little Miss Sunshine, To Wong Foo, Thelma and Louise and Rain Man are my top road movies. I think it's a great gender. Pandemic showed us this. When we're confined we're forced to deal with ours and other's demons.

about "stealing" the body, they couldnt just leave the body cause im sure the staff dont want to take a chance that theyre just abandoning the body with them.

I jujus made the connection between Stan Grossman in this movie and Fargo. Apparently it was a tribute to Fargo.

Its so nice to catch a movie - the first one after many videos - which Matt havent seen neither :)

Glad that you both love this Oscar nominated and winning movie. I have seen it several times and LOVE this movie!

Guys, a little surprised at you on this one. No mention of Alan Arkin's performance in this and the fact that he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor? You usually don't miss a detail....

a) I wonder if Steve Carrell ever took acting classes. I know he was an improv guy in Chicago then came to Hollywood, but most comedians can't naturally act well. Like, they can do comedy movies great but are NOT good at acting seriously. b) Is Pippen trained as a therapy cat or something? He is the most loving, caring and emotionally supportive cat I've ever witnessed!! Love him!

Oh gosh...Em is gonna laugh SO hard for this one...and she is gonna cry SO hard for it too...I hope it is not too hard on her. ✌💯😉 Update...OK, no worries...the laffs way outpaced the crys...all the parts were in there. LOL

A super excellent film, cool reaction as always Emily & Matthew, you both take care and have a great weekend

I think you guys are the first people I've seen that know that being colorblind means you can't fly before it was revealed.

Now I can't wait for Emily to see "Where the Buffalo Roam"!

The funeral home's name is "Murokao and Green" but when Greg Kinnear's character is trying to take care of his deceased father their heads block the letters to show "A O K Green" which means the ruse worked. Except for superfreak all the music is acoustic implied that it's a French film that takes place in america when the family is trying to register Olive for the pagent the woman is shown with horns by the curls in hair, the man steps in front of the lamp to show an angel and olive when she's getting dressed resembles Jesus. Also the sheet that Alan Arkin was wrapped in resembles an old man in the fetal position.

Yes! Tragic how overlooked this movie was.

Little Miss Sunshine rubbed me the wrong way when I first saw it in 2006, but I decided to try it a second time a few years ago and realized I loved it. Now when I see someone react to it, I'm always curious about whether they'll love it right away or, at least, leave themselves open to loving it later.

Reminds me of when I was a little kid my family and my granny. Drive from Wisconsin to California. 7 of us in a van

Carell was in "Bruce Almighty", "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", and "The 40 Year-Old Virgin", before this movie.

One of my favorites!!!

Love seeing your reactions to this super funny movie, classic

Excellent performance by Alan Arkin....and the entire cast.

Have you seen ‘As Good As It Gets’? More Greg Kinnear and life lessons.

Don't know if this comment's gonna be read, i have some reaction suggestions: #1 Hunt for the wilderpeople (comedy from New Zealand starring Sam Neill) #2 The voices (American horror comedy starring Ryan Reynolds) and Yamato (Japanese war movie).

She honestly needs to watch swiss army man. It's an amazing movie.

I really didn’t think that I would like this movie and boy was I surprised. I love it! Beauty pageants creep me out in general, especially with kids. Yuck! For another great different kind of role for Steve Carell, watch The Way Way Back.

Paul Dano was great in L.I.E.

One of my all time favorites.

I can not agree more about beauty pageants for little girls, they do NOT need to be made-up like lookers or put in bikinis. Let them be children. I like this movie pick, it's not for everyone but I agree with Matthew's rating. I'm glad Olive got to do her own thing, just cut loose onstage. For more outstanding Alan Arkin comedy roles watch "Catch-22" and "The In-Laws" with Peter Falk.

Pretty late to the comments but if you happen to read this I suggest a different sunshine movie called Sunshine Cleaning. Off beat comedy/drama like this one.

18:42 "This just makes me extremely uncomfortable." Yeah, hold that thought, homie...

Enjoyed this. I hope you consider reacting to BOOMERANG & HARLEM NIGHTS. Very funny.

Have you watched THE FOXCATCHER and WELCOME TO MARWEN? Steve Carell are in those movies and he plays dramatic roles.

If anything this movie does demonstrate the cringey and ludicrous nature of these children's beauty pageants. Not glamourized at all, just shown to be the farce it is. That helps me get through it anyway. If it was celebrated in any way I could not have been able to stomach it.

I had a VW Squareback from that same era, with the same electrical short in the horn. One time i went over a speed bump in the mall parking lot and the horn starts honking and squealing as some cholos walked in front of me, lol…. I was like pointing at the horn and mouthing “I’m sorry” haha

Didn't they steal the trophy? I thought I remember them stealing the trophy 🏆