film: Little Miss Sunshine

Jerman's Rating: 4 steps forward, 2 step back. Defcon 4 (heavy) for language only. This film isn't for kids, but despite its higher defcon, would be great for teenager (15/16) ages and up to middle life crisis ages.

I'll try to adhere to a very strict structure here, so you all can see the way I rate movies. Let me tell you how I arrived at the +4/-2 rating.

First- some background. This film is a character study, the characters are very developed and are real, and so so diverse, even inside their own family. There is the mom (we love Toni Collette, the best mom is filmdom), and such quirky characters that you will love by the end because they are so real.

I write these reviews mainly for people who haven't seen the film, and want some insight. I also don't want to spoil the film for you. The film progresses in a beautiful way and I don't want to mess up that progression. Having goals and striving for them is taught well. Being who you are is taught heavily and taught in a beautiful way. This film also shows that life has a way of not working out the way you wanted it to. There are good and bad ways to react to this, instead of saying whats good and bad, the film tells you to find your own way of doing things, which is so very correct.

As with most Toni Collette films (I've seen), family is very important, particularly holding the family together and loving each other. This isn't just background morals, it is taught well.

There are a few negative morals as well as some fuzziness. Doing drugs is shown in a negative light, but the family is aware, and does nothing. Same thing for pornography. The grandpa has some loose morals which he tries to teach to his grandson. Its bad advise, but many people wouldn't be able to recognize this. There is some fuzziness when it comes to lengths you should go to accommodate someone you care about. What if its bad for you? What if this is going to ultimately hurt the person? Should you still let them go? Then there is the whole 'sticking it to the man' thing, and how far you should let yourself go, legal or illegal. After you watch the film, you do need to step back and realize that there was a lot of dramatization and you can't do these things in real life.
I'm going to refrain from talking about the artistry, or deeper meanings, or dualities, so that I can keep this post at the bread and butter morality, which is what this blog is all about. If you want to know more you can always email me. This is a film I believe everyone needs to watch, despite its momentary vulgarity, I give this film a high recommendation.