thebemusedphotog.com

Contrary to popular(engineer-turned-lousy-banker) belief, this show is not part of the Little Men series…

The story tells of a mixed bag of characters who are, coincidentally, family. The mixed bag contains

the high strung mom, who can’t quit smoking
the dad who invented the 7 steps to becoming a winner, but who also seems to be dangerously on the edge of falling into the loser category
the uncle, who lost his gay partner and student to another professor, and then lost his job to that same professor, and tried to lose his own life as well
the granddad, who is addicted to porn and coke.
the brother, who doesn’t talk, reads Nietzche and wants to join the marines.
the girl, who joins the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.

Olive, the baby of the family, was the first runner up of the county-wide Little Miss Sunshine pageant. News arrives, stating that the winner had to forfeit her crown. Olive is now given the chance to compete on the state-wide Little Miss Sunshine Pageant in California that weekend. Thus, sending the entire dysfunctional family on a road trip in a bumpy yellow VW van.

Along the way, lots of things happen. The car breaks down, Dad loses his book offer, Uncle meets his ex-partner with the other guy, Brother finds out he’s colour blind and can’t join the marines, Granddad dies, and Olive gets left behind.