(Life Through the Lens - Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

“Everybody just pretend to be normal.”

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Are you only satisfied in life with absolute and uncompromising victory? To win at all costs? To be at the top of the heap? Is your success determined by monetary gains and lavish add-ons?

Or can satisfaction be found internally? Can winning look like second place… or… fifty-sixth? Can a mountain climbed be enough or do you have to get there in record time? Can you be fulfilled with comfort instead of luxury?

To a group of children, Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “If there’s one thing in this world I hate, it’s losers. I despise them.” Just let that sink in a little. Were his intentions good? Sure. Did he want to spur on a generation of hard-workers? Sure. Was that a strangely awful thing to say? Um…yep.

When screenwriter Michael Arndt heard this interview by famous winner Schwarzenegger, he was appalled into action. This could not be the final voice that these children would hear on the subject. Thus, the screenplay for “Little Miss Sunshine” was born! A new testament for the young and old alike now reads: “a real loser is someone so afraid of not winning that they don’t even try.”

Life is hard enough – do not put the pressure of first place on your plate. Instead, see life as a series of challenges and consistently overcome those challenges. Be better than before. Try harder than before. Live wiser than before. That, to me, seems like a win.

***

Sheryl Hoover (Toni Collette) is barely holding her family together. Her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) is relentlessly and callously pursuing his dream of being a motivational speaker/author with little success; her directionless brother Frank (Steve Carell) attempted suicide after being disgracefully dismissed from his university position; her father-in-law Edwin (Alan Arkin) was expelled from his nursing home for snorting heroin; her aggressively distant son Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence; and her 7-year-old daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) is an overly enthusiastic and obsessive beauty pageant contestant. Getting through the day and dinner on the table is a victory.

In a twist of last-minute-fate (and confiscated, illegal diet pills), Olive qualifies for the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant in California, but the options for the family are scarce. In order to make Olive’s dream come true, the family must drive 800 miles … all together … in a decrepit Volkswagen van…in two days. This is for you, Olive!

***

“Little Miss Sunshine” is a well-oiled machine of character growth, chemistry and depth; each character so beautifully blends and supports the next. The screenplay by Arndt is a playground of purpose and potential – it is rich and rewarding! Not only is it emotionally poignant, but it is also painfully funny. He is able to take even the darkest moments and allow an unfiltered light to illuminate the beauty in everything. He deserves his Oscar!

The film was a low-budget gamble, so I am grateful to directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris for their faith and faculty. They took a shot and, subsequently, created an $8 million masterpiece. Their direction is clever, focused and honest. The cinematography by Tim Suhrstedt is intricate yet effortless. The editing by Pamela Martin is interesting and always on time.

If there has ever been a “best ensemble,” it may be this film. The casting by Justine Arteta and Kim Davis-Wagner is pitch-perfect! Collette is amazingly believable and touching; she transfers emotions to the audience with pinpoint accuracy. Kinnear is so frustrating yet redemptive. Carell, who was relatively unknown when filming, delivers an astonishingly heartfelt performance. Arkin justly wins an Oscar for his zany yet grounded portrayal. Dano nails it as always. Breslin, at only 10 years old, gives a nuanced and natural performance that earns her an Oscar nomination. And that final dance … fuhgeddaboudit!

Trivia: Bryan Cranston (as Stan Grossman) and Dean Norris (as State Trooper McCleary) both appear in small roles — they, one year later, both star in television’s pinnacle drama “Breaking Bad.”

Trivia: Beth Grant (as Pageant Official Jenkins) is one of my favorite supporting actresses. She has starred in three Best Pictures (“Rain Man,” “No Country for Old Men” and “The Artist”) – a mark no one has beat in all of Hollywood history!

Trivia: Breslin is the sixth-youngest actor to be nominated for an Oscar.

Twenty years have passed, but true art remains vital and vivid! I dare you to watch “Little Miss Sunshine” and tell me you aren’t impressed.

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REPORT CARD: “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Grade: A+.

Assessment: Silly, sincere, and surprising