Little Miss Sunshine: What Winning Truly Means

What happens when you fail? When you pour yourself into a project or a dream, every last part of your soul, and you get back nothing for your effort? How do you move forward? Are you now doomed to be a failure? Is the world split between those who succeed and those who don’t achieve their goals? Does life really come down to winners and losers? Are dreams only worth following if we can win?

Little Miss Sunshine argues that winning and losing don’t depend on whether you actually succeed or get rewarded for your efforts. Rather, to be a true winner is to risk failure in the first place.  “Winning” at the “American Dream” doesn’t actually matter; it’s your dedication to what brings you happiness that does. Celebrating this, in the bonds you have formed with your closest loved ones, is what truly makes you a “winner.”

In the opening moments of Little Miss Sunshine, the “winner” vs. “loser” theme is laid explicitly bare. Little innocent Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin) stares at the television set as the winner of the Miss America Beauty Pageant is crowned. Her small hands move up to her head, mimicking the adornment of the crown. It’s clear this is Olive’s dream. More specifically, it’s her current main goal in life. This moment can be seen as a representation of the “American Dream” and how it is instilled in the younger members of society.

Interspersed with this footage is Olive’s stepfather, Richard, giving his spiel on “winners and losers” to a mostly empty classroom. Richard’s lack of success affects Sheryl, Olive’s mother. She is particularly strung tight and nearing the end of her patience with Richard’s program and worldview. In addition, she is overwhelmed by the effects it is having on her family.

For instance, her son Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence in respect for Friedrich Nietzsche. He’s kept his vow for hundreds of days and has promised not to speak until he finally makes it into the Air Force. This goal also seems to arise from a disdain for those who raised him. When Uncle Frank (Steve Carell) asks him about who he hangs out with, he gives his answer by writing on a notepad. “I Hate Everyone.” “What about your family?” Frank inquires. Dwayne dramatically underlines “Everyone.”

Richard’s dad is also a burden on Sheryl. Kicked out of the retirement home for using heroin, he spews expletives about chicken, disrupting the family meal. Her brother, Frank, is a loser, at least according to Richard. Frank almost succeeded in committing suicide, and as Richard notes, winners never quit or give up on life.  All these strong, messy personalities make for the perfect maelstrom of chaos. The parents particularly don’t know how to handle Olive’s curiosity about Frank’s suicide, allowing them to discuss the topic at the dinner table.

In the midst of all this, Olive learns she’s qualified for the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant in California in two days. Olive is extremely excited that she gained the opportunity by taking the place of the former winner of the regional competition. She runs around the house screaming, “I won! I won! I won!” The family concludes that they’ll travel with her to the competition. However, Richard holds one final test. He tells Olive that there’s no point in entering the competition if she doesn’t think she can win. So, does she think she can win? Talking like this to a child is highly damaging. It’s a way of separating the world into “winners” and “losers” by putting pressure on the child to perform in just the right way to please their parent. This has implications for Olive’s mental health that arise later in the film.

This isn’t the only instance in which Richard psychologically affects Olive for the worse. During the restaurant scene, Olive orders some ice cream. Richard heavily shames her for eating it, telling her that if she eats a lot, she’ll become fat. Further affecting Olive, Richard asks if the Miss America women are fat or skinny. Olive answers, “They’re skinny, I guess.” Richard replies, “Well, I guess they don’t eat a lot of ice cream.”  The rest of the family is exasperated by Richard’s behavior, so they rebel, eating some of the ice cream themselves in an effort to show Olive that it’s okay. It works. She yanks back the bowl and digs in.

But the effects of both instances still linger. When Olive and Grandpa are in the hotel, Olive, feeling insecure, asks Grandpa if she’s pretty. Grandpa, in the most heartwarming moment in the film, tells her she’s beautiful, “inside and out.” Then Olive seeks reassurance once again, “I don’t want to be a loser.” He asks her where she got this idea. “Because Daddy hates losers,” she replies tearfully. Grandpa sees the effect his son’s philosophy has had on his daughter. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a minute. You know what a loser is? A real loser is someone so afraid of not winning, they don’t even try. Now you’re trying, right?” Olive responds, “Yup.” Grandpa concludes with, “Well then you’re not a loser.”

Grandpa’s talk with Olive gives her the confidence to be there for Dwayne when he discovers he’s colorblind. She’s able to extend the love Grandpa gave to her to Dwayne. When the other family members are at a loss as to what to do, and Dwayne goes off on them all in a rant, accusing them of being losers themselves for their failures, Olive knows the only thing her brother needs is someone he loves to be by his side. Dwayne apologizes for what he said. This reveals that the persona that he puts on is just a way of coping with his situation and that he truly does love his family. The “I Hate Everyone” note he showed to Frank at the beginning of the film was all just his way of hiding.

Richard deals with his own insecurities by coming face to face with the fact that his “9-Step Program” is a failure. When Stan Grossman (Bryan Cranston) tells Richard that his program is a dead end, that it’s not the program that is causing his failure, it’s that no one’s heard of Richard, Richard doubles down, telling Stan that he’s missed the whole point of the program. It may appear that Richard is forging ahead, but his attitude on the bus afterward shows him in a mourning state. As he does with Olive, Grandpa tells his son that he’s proud of him for trying something no one else would do. Unfortunately, Grandpa passes of a heroin overdose the night he has his talk with Olive.

Through all of this, Olive is still affected by the ice cream episode. When they finally arrive at the pageant, Olive asks Miss California if she eats ice cream.  She encourages Olive, stating that her favorite flavor is Chocolate Cherry Garcia (although technically it’s frozen Yogurt). This delights Olive; she is now ready to go on stage. Neither Dwayne nor Richard want her up there, though. However, Sheryl recognizes that this is Olive’s dream. She’s able to convince them to let Olive be Olive. They must let her eat her ice cream once again. They must support her, despite what she will face when confronted with reality.

Here, the pageant, as Dwayne states, is a stand-in for everything from Richard’s “self-help” program to high school, to college, to work, to all the incredibly tortuous ways in life we measure ourselves up against society. “Life is one f*cking beauty contest after another.” This is the American Dream, an ideal built on keeping up with Joneses. It gives us goals we cannot possibly fulfill and encourages us to compare ourselves to the “winners” of the world. But Dwayne calls it out. F*ck the Air Force Academy,” he states. If I want to fly, I’ll find a way to fly.” He’s discarding the things that don’t matter and truly valuing that which brings him happiness.

It’s this wisdom, given through Grandpa, that allows Richard, Frank, and Dwayne to support Olive as she takes her act on stage. Her performance stands in rebellion to the other contestants and exposes the hypocrisy of the pageant. All the other contestants are “glammed up” and over sexualized even though they are pre-teen minors. The audience accepts this, yet when Olive starts ripping off her suit, they go haywire. There is a clear double standard here.

The Hoover family views Olive up on stage.  Richard is the first, proving his support of Olive (and the change in his mindset). The others follow, emboldened by Richard’s act and by Olive embracing her true self. They join her dance of rebellion and give the pageant viewers a sight they will never forget. Miss California also enjoys the routine. She was the one who encouraged Olive’s love for ice cream, after all!

It might be of interest to note that in an alternate ending, the Hoover family stole the grand trophy for the winner of the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant. While this does speak to satirizing the concept of what a winner is by giving the trophy to Olive, the ending that the film chose over this one fits better. After being let go by promising not to attend another pageant, the Hoover family packs into their bus, all helping one another back on. They are a single unit. While Olive lost the pageant, the focus is on what she and her family have won instead: love for each other.