Thursday, February 22, 2007

"Little Miss Sunshine"

Warning. Off the subject of medicine.

Saw "Little Miss Sunshine" on DVD the other day. Way hyped movie. Big hit at Sundance. I gotta say that I thought it was terrible. I mean we spend most of the movie getting close to a dysfunctional family who are all doing their best to make their 8 year old daughter's dreams of beauty pageant success come true. Her lovable and crotchety grandad, recently kicked out of the nursing home, has been giving her private lessons in between taking hits of heroin and he overdoses and dies. The family presses on through all manner of other terrible obstacles and and the young girl gets her moment in the sun.

Clearly outmatched in looks and talent she gets up on stage to perform her heretofore secret talent number. Turns out it's a striptease. An 8 year old girl does a striptease. Applause? What else was grandpa doing? Where was child protective services? What a piece of shit.

4 comments:

  1. I haven't seen it, but find the whole idea that it is ok for an 8 year old's dream to be to win a beauty pageant not right. I have a 9 year old, and if she ever suggested to me that her goal was to win something because of how she looked, I would feel like I failed. She's beautiful, but her goal should not be about how she looks. A striptease for an 8 year old isn't funny, it is sick, and a sad comment on society these days. (once again I sound way older than I am because of my crotchety views)

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  2. Gotta tell you I laughed at this movie, and only because I have seen each and every one of these characters in my ED experience. It was just that they were wrapped up in one neat package called a VW bus. Obviously this was not meant to inspire us. But the line where he asks her where her grandpa is now, and she says in the trunk of our car is funny.

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  3. Yes, exactly. And if you saw this granfather in the ED you would call CPS without hesitating. I watch a movie to escape work, not to be reminded of the f'ed up people that drive me crazy. That being said, there were funny moments.

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  4. I thought the movie was hilarious.

    Many physicians hate the movie.

    The scene in the hospital waiting room in which the dysfunctional family members of recently-deceased grandpa are "handled" by clueless and obnoxious administrators is Spot-On, as the Brits would say.

    No wonder it's said we are our own worst enemy.

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