“This is so good!” Roger Ebert said excitedly to his wife, the thrill of finally watg a film he had high hopes for evident in his voice. “’t wait to see the rest of it.”

  His enthusiasm was so focused on the movie that he didn’t even notice his wife’s rea to his words. It had been a while since he had seen a truly great film that wasn’t a rewatch.

  The hollow eyes of Steve Carell on the s pulled Roger bato the story. Carell, a ediius known for making audiences ugh in [The Office] and [The 40-Year-Old Virgin], veyed a deep sadness in [Little Miss Sunshine].

  Sheryl (Toni Collette) drove Frank (Steve Carell) home, where he was staying with Dwayroy Armitage). The audie a clear sense of Dwayne’s personality as soon as his room was shown. Lying on his bed and reading a book about zsche, he didn’t bother responding when Sheryl knocked on the door. Moody aached, he simply rolled his eyes in the background when Sheryl annouhey had a "talk" about Frank. The subtle reaade it clear that “talking” was Sheryl’s domain, not his.

  As the story unfolded, each character’s quirks became increasingly apparent. Grandpa (An Arkin) was a foul-mouthed, short-tempered heroin addict who’d been kicked out of his retirement home. Richard (Greg Kinnear) struggled with the stress of seg a book deal, and Dwayne’s vow of sileaken to fulfill his dream of being a fighter pilot, added an additional yer of tension.

  When Frank asked Dwayne who he spent time with, the teenager responded by scribbling on his notepad: “I hate EVERYONE!”

  “What about your family?” Frank pressed.

  Dwayne gave him a withering look before underlining the word “EVERYONE” twice, making it abundantly clear his family was included in that decration.

  Then came a se that oignant as it was humorous. Little Olive (Abigail Breslin) ily asked Frank why he tried to kill himself.

  “I don’t think that’s an appropriate versation for a seven-year-old!” Richard snapped.

  “Well, she’s gonna find out anyway!” Sheryl shot back.

  Frank finally revealed his reason: “I tried to kill myself because I fell in love with a grad student of mine who didn’t love me back. I was very mu love with him.”

  “Him? You fell in love with a boy? That’s silly,” Olive said, her ione highlighting her childlike perspective. It was a statement no adult could make without seeming homophobic.

  Roger found himself especially captivated by Olive’s character. Her pure, unfiltered way of speaking had a charm that was impossible to resist.

  “Olive,” Richard interjected, his tone firm. “The important thing to uand here is that Uncle Frank gave up on himself. He made foolish choices by giving up on himself, which is something winners never do.”

  “Man, this guy is an asshole,” someone called out iheater, elig a round of chuckles from the audiehe truth behind that statement was hard to deny.

  Richard’s unrealistic expectations for his seven-year-old daughter were clearly a parenting misstep. Roger didn’t have children himself, but even he could see how such pressure might damage a child’s mental health as they grew up.

  In the se, the family received a voicemail inf them that Olive had qualified for the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant, to be held in Redondo Beach, California, in two days. Sihe family lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this meant a long road trip ahead.

  Olive couldn’t tain her excitement. She screamed in delight and immediately began pag her belongings. While the little girl’s enthusiasm was tagious, it sparked an argumeween Sheryl and Richard. Richard wao save money for his business venture, while Sheryl was determio take her daughter to the petition. Their heated discussion looked like it might escate, but thankfully, Richard relented and agreed to drive the family to California in their old yellow minibus.

  Grandpa insisted on joining since he had been the oeag Olive her dance moves, while Frank o e along because he was on suicide watch. Dwayne initially refused to go but relutly agreed after Sheryl promised him permission to attend flight school. Leaving him home alone simply wasn’t an option.

  And so, the family set off from Albuquerque toward California.

  On the road, Grandpa decided to share some hiriously terrible advice with Dwayne about his sex life, causing uproarious ughter throughout the theater. An Arkin’s delivery was fwless, and he easily stole every se he was in.

  Troy Armitage, usually the ter of attention in any film he starred in, had a more subdued role in [Little Miss Sunshihe true se stealers were Arkin and Abigail Breslin, whose performances as Grandpa and Olive captivated the audience. Despite Dwayne’s vow of sileroy’s nuanced portrayal of the moody teeood out. His subtle expressions and body nguage left Roger iill, Roger couldn’t help but think that Academy Award voters might overlook Troy’s uated performan favor of Arkin’s showier role.

  During a stop at a restaurant, Richard once again showcased his iivity by making Olive self-scious about her weight. The disfort of the se was quiet obvious to the viewers, making them dislike RIchard even more.

  When the family returo their minibus, it wouldn’t start. The clutch was shot, leaving them no choice but to push-start the vehicle. What followed was a hirious sequence of the entire family pushing the minibus while lively western music pyed in the background, drawing roars of ughter from the audience.

  Later, Richard received a phone call about his book deal, only to face disappointing news. Meanwhile, Frank stopped at a gas station to buy some porn magazines frandpa and uedly ran into his ex-lover, adding another yer of drama to the family’s less than perfect adventure.

  As the family resumed their journey, a tender father-son moment unfolded between Grandpa and Richard. In an uncharacteristically geone, Grandpa assured his son that everything would be alright. “Even if you don’t win, at least you tried,” he said. But Richard dismissed the se—it went against his very philosophy about winners and losers. By his own logic, he was now a loser, not a winner.

  That night, the family stopped at a motel. Sheryl and Richard, who shared a room, ended up in another heated argument, this time over their financial struggles. Meanwhile, Frank and Dwayook the room beside the couple, with Dwayne silently eavesdropping on the argument from a distance.

  Still determined not to give up, Richard decided to take matters into his own hands. He po drive to Scottsdale to meet the ior for his project, abandoning the family’s broken-down car in favor of a rented scooter. Unfortunately, even that turned out to be a bust when the ior still wasn’t ied, leaving Richard more dejected than before.

  In a quieter moment, Grandpa and Olive shared their room, and Olive fided her insecurities trandfather. She admitted feeling like she wasn’t good enough because of her father’s high expectations. Grandpa, eager to enjoy his nightly fix, took a moment to reassure her.

  “A real loser is somebody who is so afraid of not winning that they don’t even try,” he said emphatically.

  Roger couldn’t help but feel that this was the essage of the film. Whatever twists and turns y ahead, it was clear the filmmakers were emphasizing this idea from the start.

  The m, tragedy struck. Olive ily announced, “Mom, Dad, Grandpa won’t wake up.”

  The theater fell silent. Everyone immediately uood the gravity of the situation—a heroin addiot waking up in the m could only meahing. The family rushed Grandpa to the hospital, but it was too te. Olive’s hopes of being Little Miss Sunshine seemed to shatter uhe weight of the tragedy.

  As Sheryl gently expihe situation to Olive, Richard suddenly interrupted with a defiant, “No!” His outburst shocked everyone, but he quickly revealed his pn: they would stage a body heist. They couldn’t have left Grandpa in the hospital or they’d be stuck dealing with plex legalities and the logistics of holding a funeral in California instead of Albuquerque.

  What followed was a hiriously chaotic se. The entire family worked together to smuggle Grandpa’s body out of the hospital through a window. The theater erupted in ughter as they somehow mao pull it off.

  Ba the road, the family entered another issue: the horn on their old VW minibus got stuck, bring nonstop. This attracted the attention of a poli who pulled them over.

  In a edic twist, the officer insisted on searg the trunk. Just as the tension peaked, he became distracted by the stack of porn magazines Frank had purchased frandpa. pletely enthralled by the magazihe officer entirely overlooked the corpse hidden irunk. The audience howled with ughter at the absurdity of the moment.

  The family was eventually allowed to tiheir journey, but a wist emerged. Olive had picked up some eye test pamphlets from the hospital and was testing Dwayne’s vision for fun. Dwayne answered every question correctly—until they reached the test for color blindness.

  “What’s that letter? It’s right in the ter,” Olive asked ily. Dwayne looked at it, then shook his head in fusion.

  Frank g him, his face clouded with pity. “You might be colorblind,” he said quietly. “And colorblind people ’t fly jets.”

  The camera zoomed in on Dwayne’s face, capturing the moment all color drained from it. The notepad and pen he had been holding slipped from his hands, and for a split sed, it looked as though he had lost the will to live. Grief turned into panic almost instantly. He thrashed wildly, banging his head against the roof of the van, the seat, and the windows in sheer frustration.

  Watg the teenager unravel was both heartbreaking and astonishing. Heartbreaking because his lifelong dream had just been crushed, and astonishing because of Troy Armitage’s powerful performance.

  Richard pulled the van over, but before it even came to a full stop, Dwayhrew the door open and bolted out. He stopped a short distance away, his back turo his family, and screamed at the top of his lungs, “FUCK!”

  The word, breaking months of his vow of silence, echoed iheater. The raw anguish in his voice pierced through Roger’s heart. It was devastating to wateone work tirelessly toward a dream, only to be told it was impossible all along. Failure was ohing, but knowing you never had a ce was something else entirely—an unjust twist of fate.

  What followed was a mastercss in ag from Trer watched in silence as Dwayne’s emotions unfolded: grief morphing into fury, then dissolving into hopelessness. His breakdown was visceral, his pain palpable. Just as the audiehought he might spiral further, Olive stepped out of the van. She walked over to her brother and hugged him. The moment stretched as they stood there, embrag like siblings who didn’t need words to unicate.

  When Dwayne finally got up, he followed Olive back to the vahe mencholy on his face was unmistakable. He had agreed to return for his sister’s sake, but the spark within him had dimmed—he was a broken young man.

  The brilliance of the se y in its execution. Shot in a siake, it showcased Troy’s talent as he moved seamlessly from despair te tnation, all iime. The precise dire of the se was just perfect.

  As the van rumbled back to life, Roger had an epiphany: Troy Armitage was still very mu the Oscar race. This se alone was enough to secure a nomination. With a strong campaign and the Academy’s admiration for Troy, it seemed iable. Roger made a mental o emphasize this se in his review—it was a moment too powerful to overlook.

  The family drove straight to the hotel hosting the pageant, taking no additional stops along the way. As soon as they arrived, Steve Carell dispyed ued athleticism. He dashed from the van at full speed, rag ahead of everyoo reach the registration table and ensure Olive’s participation.

  They were te by four minutes and were initially deed entry by the stern woman managing the event. However, the man handlirations took pity on them and allowed Olive to enter.

  Backstage, Olive hesitated, her fidence shaken as she observed the other testants. The little girls were spray-painted with bronzers, their hair curled to perfe, and their faces caked with makeup. They were all thin and doll-like, a stark trast to Olive’s pin and chubbier appearance.

  The film’s aim here was clear: a sharp critique of the beauty pageant industry and its damaging impa young girls. It highlighted the uhy obsession with appearance, f body image issues in children who should be embrag their individuality instead of starving themselves to fit societal standards.

  Meanwhile, Dwayne and Fraured out to the o for some surfing and had an uedly profou-to-heart versation. When they returned, both had shed their wetsuits, appearing shirtless.

  “Fuck beauty tests! I ’t believe we’re allowing this,” Dwayne decred heatedly, his voice ced with frustration. “That’s my little sister.”

  The camera lingered briefly on the sculpted physique of Troy Armitage, elig audible catcalls from the theater audieeve Carell, standing beside him with a decidedly less chiseled frame, drew no such rea.

  Roger couldn’t help but chuckle internally at the btant use of Troy’s appeal. It was clear the filmmakers had ied the shirtless se as fan service for Troy’s legion of admirers, particurly his young female fans. Having been in the industry for decades, Roger uood these decisions—they were calcuted but harmless, meant to please the audience.

  Back at the pageant, the test had begun, and Olive’s pin appearaood out against the highly polished and gmorous petitors. The irls took to the stage, each act more dazzling and skilled tha. Richard grew visibly uneasy as he watched from the audience.

  He had enced Olive to pete, but now, seeing the talent on dispy, he feared she wasn’t prepared for the harsh reality of losing. He didn’t wao experiehe heartbreak of failure so young.

  Uo sit still, Richard made his way backstage, where Sheryl was helping Olive get ready. Dwayne was already there, sharing the same uneasy look as his stepfather. Both seemed to arrive at the same clusion, their expressions speaking volumes before they even said a word.

  “I don’t want Olive doing this,” Dwayne decred, his voice firm and tinged with anger. “This pce is fucked! I don’t want these people judging my sister. Fuck them! Just look around. Everyone will ugh at her. She’s not a beauty queen, Mom. She’s just not.”

  “It’s too te,” Sheryl tered, her tone defensive.

  “It’s not,” Dwayne shot back. “You’re the mom—you’re supposed to protect her.”

  Sheryl seemed taken aback by the sudden alig between her husband and son, but she couldn’t bring herself to crush Olive’s dreams so bluntly. In the end, she left the decision to Olive.

  Olive, determio honor her te grandfather’s memory, made her choice. She stepped onto the stage with a quiet fidehat belied her age. What followed erformahat Roger—and likely ag—would never fet.

  It was a striptease. While not as eous as it could have been, it certainly wasn’t i either. The stark trast between the hyper-polished, sanitized routines of the other testants and Olive’s bold, unorthodox act left the audiend judges utterly speechless.

  The host, flustered and desperate tain trol, attempted to stop her performance, only for Richard to tackle him in a burst of fatherly protectiveness. The chaos escated as more officials tried to intervene, but instead of bag down, the family took to the stage one by one, dang alongside Olive in a defiant show of unity.

  The ughter and cheers from the theater audience mirrored the mayhem on s, as the family’s unfiltered joy and solidarity became the heart of the moment.

  Eventually, the authorities intervened, and the family was briefly detaihey were released on the dition that Olive never participate in another beauty pageant in California. Begrudgingly agreeing, the family piled bato their trusty VW bus, pushing it o time to get it started.

  In a final edic beat, the minibus barreled through a toll gate, prompting a burst of ughter from the theater as they drove off toward home, united and unbothered by the absurdity of it all.

  As the credits rolled, Roger Ebert was the first to rise, g enthusiastically. The rest of the audience quickly followed suit, their appuse eg throughout the theater. This was, without question, the best film Roger had seen in years.

  He was certain it had the potential to domihe awards season, provided it received the right push. And Roger, ever the champion of ematic excellence, fully inteo give it exactly that.

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