Little Miss Sunshine - $10m well spent by Fox Searchlight
Little Miss Sunshine is a comedy about a highly dysfunctional American family. In spite of the deeper lessons that families could share together, it has a '15' rating in UK cinemas, preventing youngsters from seeing it even if accompanied.
Chris: "I was really fascinated by the contrast - Dwayne (a teenager who has taken a vow of silence) studies Nietzsche and has this 'Jesus was...' T-shirt; his dad Richard promotes a commercial '9 steps to being a winner' philosophy, and then you have Proust, his uncle Frank's hero, who was successful in spite of being a total loser."
Valerie: "I have to credit the writer for putting all those things together. His (Michael Arndt's) brother is a literary scholar, so much of that character (Frank) came from him. But the thing I love about all these characters is that they all have a dream, a universe they've built, and it makes them bigger than the clichéd characters. Frank has a life you can imagine reading Proust; he was very much in his head, it was an intellectual life, and his challenge is a family where there isn't much intellectual discussion going on. He's brought right down to earth, so it's that distance that he has to travel that is the major thing.
"Nietzsche's idea of transcending, for the teenager, who feels trapped in the mundane existence of suburban family life - it just shows that he's longing for something more. All these characters, they were passionate, full of longing. Just that they are reading Nietzsche or Proust tells you something."
Chris: "So they are linked by having these dreams?"
Jonathan: "Yeah, it's their passion, their aspiration. That's what we loved about them. Whether you have an innate interest in Nietsche or Proust, what's most important is the fact that you're engaged, you're seeking greater answers and reaching to understand life in a new way. Then to see their hopes dashed in so many ways, and to understand what endures after failure or disappointment. They have a world that is bigger than the immediate story."
Chris: "About that which endures after all their dreams and hopes have been dashed - does that kind of link in to what you were saying last night about the value of families as opposed to family values?"
Valerie: "Yeah. Where do you go when you're at your worst? You go back home."
Jonathan: "Frank, he has this incredible collapse and his life has fallen apart, and the only one to pick him up is his sister. He's really taken to the place where he'd least like to go, her home."
Valerie: "It's not necessarily the place you desire, but it is the place that accepts you and will take you back. We wanted to show the strength of what those bonds really are. You look at this strange biological connection. They are such a diverse bunch and there's no other connection. Even with adopted kids, there's this bond, that you have to experience things together."
Jonathan: "There are certainly families that don't."
Chris: "Sometimes you have this tension between, 'We love you but we don't like you...'"
Jonathan: "Right. But that's born out of a basic belief that families love each other. In America there's this ridiculous notion of the nuclear family. But I do think that at the core of this there is the need to believe in the good."
Valerie: "You can be at your worst with these people and they still love you. You don't necessarily have to agree on everything."
Chris: "This family does particularly well under pretty stressful circumstances. Does it help that they are all quite intelligent, they are all quite articulate, whether in verbal or non-verbal ways? They have an ability to communicate that not all families have."
Jonathan: "Yes. But they're all basically good people, and I think most people are good. These are all smart people, but I think it's that notion of emotional intelligence. They are all passionate, and in that passion they recognise fellow travellers, even though Frank and Richard are as far from one another as you could ever be, but they are both passionate about their pursuits."
Valerie: "I remember once we met some people and we became friends, but our friendship started with an argument. Sometimes there's people you enjoy being able to argue with. In a family you can do that, you can wrestle with them, whereas with most people you meet you have to be pretty careful. It [family] is this place where you can work things out. Most of life you have to watch yourself wherever you go, and you don't grow very much in that place.
Chris: "On a different subject, censorship is usually about pornography or violence, whereas this film has a 15 certificate so many children will not be able to see it. Your children are -"
Valerie: "Ten and thirteen."
Chris: "If you have responsible children and you are able to discuss difficult issues with them, would you want them to be able to see this film?"
Jonathan: "It's really the parents' job to understand where their child is at, and their emotional growth, but I hope that parents can share this film with their children."
Valerie: "In America, it's 'R' rated and a child can go with a parent."
Jonathan: "I appreciate that because I think it's the parents' decision."
Chris: "Thank you very much."
(Jonathan and Valerie's children are on tour with their parents promoting the film, and have seen it many times.)
Little Miss Sunshine goes on general release in the UK on 8th September 2006.
Note on US/UK rating systems: (USA - MPAA) 'R': "Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
In the opinion of the Rating Board, this film definitely contains some adult material. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about this film before they allow their children to accompany them. An R-rated film may include strong language, violence, nudity, drug abuse, other elements, or a combination of the above, so parents are counseled in advance to take this advisory rating very seriously."
MPPA justification/advice on Little Miss Sunshine: "Rated R for language, some sex and drug content."
(UK - BBFC) '15': "Suitable only for 15 years and over. No-one younger than 15 may see a '15' film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a '15' rated video or DVD."
BBFC justification/advice on Little Miss Sunshine: "Contains strong language and drug use."
