Spoilers

This has been on my watchlist long before i ever even had a watch list. I remember being in my teens seeing a trailer for this & thinking aww thats sweet, i will get around to that one day. & then just never had. But its always been in the back of my mind, that one day i will, because i remember it got a lot of love. & then last night in this boiling september heatwave i was looking through Disney Plus for a film to watch & there it was, so i thought this is the perfect chill film for me to watch. I hope this is as wonderful as it makes it out to be.

When the film ended, i was elated. Its perfect. Its the perfect most charming funny little heart warming film in the world & it was exactly what i needed on my friday, my mind knows me too well. & i remembered it got a lot of awards hype & i decided to google the film & was like what crime of a film beat this to best picture, this is a film everyone in the world should watch… It was beaten by The Departed… the 3rd greatest film ever made… ahhh fair enough.

Everyone in the film hits it out of the park with their performances. & considering you know they arent nobody’s they are all big names (some then now all of them) you watch them all & you go oh crap. There wasnt one of them that got any part of it wrong at all. It was a pleasure to watch. Even the people they meet along the way of their road trip is fabulous & so well picked & acted (main shout out the the bereavement person at the hospital, whos meant to care but doesnt give a crap).

Paul Dano is the MVP. He doesnt say a word until his world falls apart & then his first word is FUCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK as he realises his life is over & so are all his dreams. He was a stroppy moody teen then, which is exactly what id have been. Emo hair cut & family issues & everything. It was so relatable & he was phenomenal.

Alan Arkin made me cry. He did. When Olive ask am i pretty & am i going to win because shes scared about how she would be judged by others. That broke men. I am a huge advocate of its okay to be you, dont judge yourself against others (even though i often fail to take my own advise) & its okay not to be okay, but his little speech & the pride he had for his Granddaughter was wonderful & it made me miss both my Granddad & Grandpa. Okay he was unhinged & did drugs & then died but still. It was wonderful & it inspired everyone in the film.

That dinner table scene is the perfect way to get to know what is going on with each character. It such a simple scene but you understand so much what is going on with everyone’s situation & you know you just want ot route for them all to get what they want in their lives. & how they seem like a normal family but theres so much going on under the surface that no one realises. & her excitement & finding out shes won is wonderful. You so would do that as a 10 year old. You really really would.

The camper is its own little character, the horn, being unable to stop, the clutch, the stories. I love it. It is iconic. I love it. But pushing that camper because it wont go from 1st to 2nd unless its on a hill, brilliant.

Smuggling the dead body out of the hospital was insane. I full on laughed at that for a good 5mins. It was crazy, but you would do that though. IT would have been grandpas wish for here to enter that contest, they had come so far, but yea that was crazy.

I like how they deal with mental health & attempted suicide. They do have a frank chat about it & you see all the things that trigger him across his journey too. Its really well done & especially how to deal with that with kids.

When the police officer stops them when they have the body, I was so worried, but then the fact that hes more concerned about the adult magazines which was a throw away part of the film earlier on is amazing. Just like ahh no body, your fine. & he didnt even wait for them to drive away first.

When they get the the beauty pageant, its brilliant. Because after all the hype & suspense to get there, you then see all the other girls & their parents & dedication & you just think no Olive dont do this, but you do also think please Olive own this. & i love thats a chat they all have too. Busy going she cant go out there & then letting it be her choice. & then there was her dance. Iconic. I re watched that dance again because it was insane & crazy & made the film exactly what it was. It showed how upperty & offended Karen’s & preppy people can get, when what she was doing was no worse than the other young girls on the stage. & then her family joining her to prove the point fantastic. That is the correct support network. I love it. & it was no worse than the other girls who had all been spray tanned & sexualised. She owned it & i loved it. they are right fuck beauty pageants.

Its so well written so much so that the point where they have arguments are like ahhhhh is this actually acting, this feels so real.

I smiled through the entire thing. My face hurt from smiling & laughing when it was over & think thats all you need to know about it.

When people ask me what film they should watch this month (apart from Strange way of Life obviously) i will say please go on disney plus & find little miss sunshine & it will just make your day & life so much better. It was perfect, absolutely perfect. If it was a cinema club film, it would be getting golden buzzer nomination.