Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Family always comes first.  Before lawfulness, before morality, before ethics, that is where family lives.  This is the story of a family that didn’t always get along, but knew that the absence of conflict doesn’t mitigate the true feeling of home that only a family can provide.  Cruising along in an old Volkswagon van just as dysfunctional as their family itself, the family makes its way across three states for the youngest daughter to participate in what might be at worst described as the pedophilia infested
sexual predator infested waters of child beauty pageants, but at best as the herding of children by mothers projecting dreams resulting from disappointments in their own lives.  A loving, substance abusing grandfather, a suicidal uncle, an unsuccessful self help entrepreneur dad, and a well meaning but entirely too stressed out mother trying to keep the family from imploding all participate in the story to help their little girl remain beautiful, if not to the beauty pageant judges, then to herself.

Highly recommended.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)