I have waited awhile to write about this one. I know its a little bit older of a movie, but I have just recently got into it. I think its slowly becoming one of my favorite movies. There is so much plot going on it, but at the same time is a simple concept. A family going taking a road trip so the youngest can attend a child beauty pageant. But along the way, you have a son who is devoted to not speaking, a father who is obsessed with getting his self help book off the ground, a loving grandfather addicted to cocaine, a gay uncle, the innocents of a daughter, and a mother trying to hold it all together.
I like this movie because I think there is some real struggle going on. Each character has some sort of issue going on with them and is probably closer to reality than other problems in different movies. Its probably easier to relate to the father, trying to get something off the ground to really support the family, or the mother, doing everything possible to keep everyone together. Not to mention, I think Steve Carell's character is brilliant, and great to see him in a different role.
Stop reading if you havent seen the movie...
My favorite parts is when things start crashing in around them. The grandfather dies. The sons dream of becoming a jet pilot is crashed when he realizes that he is color blind. The fathers self help book is given up on by the publisher. And the gay uncle is confronted by the man he loves and who also took his job.
What happens next is just great. While all of this is happening around them, the family arrives at the pageant and realizes how corrupt and evil the pageant really is. They approach the daughter to try and convince her to rethink taking the stage to perform her dance routine. They tell her "Olive, you dont have to do this..." She ponders for a moment, then walks on stage and performs the routine her and her grandfather worked on for so long. However, it brings the family together, the judges think the dance is too vulgar, but the family loves it because it is representing the daughters personality. They family joins her on stage and everyone dances to the routine, awesome ending.
I love this because in the midst of the family problems, the daughter brings them all together in the end. She willing does something that she knows she is going to "fail" (in the eyes of the world) but will unify the family. She is rejected by the world for being different but redeems her entire family. I think there is some spiritual themes here. Say...Jesus, coming to earth, being rejected, but redeeming his family?
No comments:
Post a Comment