Richard is one of the protagonists in the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine. He is the father of Olive Hoover, and is married to Sheryl.
Richard is a very successful man, but he has a dark side. He is often uptight and stressed out, and can be quite manipulative. He is also fiercely competitive, and will do whatever it takes to win.
Despite his flaws, Richard is a loving father and husband. He is supportive of Olive’s dreams, and always tries to make time for her. He is also shown to be a good friend, offering advice and support to those around him.
The film Little Miss Sunshine, directed by Valerie Farris and Jonathan Dayton, is about the Hoover family’s emotional and physical trek from New Mexico to Florida for Olive’s beauty pageant competition. In the beginning of the film, the viewing audience meets several characters who are able to observe their development and change as it goes on.
One of the most interesting characters is Richard, the father of Olive and grandfather to the other children in the film.
Richard is a very successful businessman who seems to have it all. He is driven and has high aspirations for himself and his family. However, as the film progresses, the cracks in his façade begin to show and we see that he is not as perfect as he first appears.
When we are first introduced to Richard, he is shown as a very tough and demanding father. He is always pushing Olive to do her best and be the best she can be. This is seen when he makes her practice her pageant walk for hours on end, even though she is clearly exhausted.
However, as the film goes on, we see that Richard is not as tough as he seems. He is actually very emotional and vulnerable. This is shown when he breaks down in tears after Olive’s disastrous pageant performance.
We also see that Richard is a very caring father and grandfather. He may not always show it, but he does care for his family deeply. This is seen when he goes out of his way to help Olive prepare for her pageant and when he comforts his grandson Dwayne after he finds out that his mother has died.
Overall, Richard is a complex character who is not always easy to understand. However, he is a loving father and grandfather who just wants the best for his family.
The father of the dysfunctional Hoover family, Mr. Hoover, is a representative example of an adult who lost his way and found it again. He is a narrow-minded and egotistical character who shows a significant shift in values and attitudes toward life and people. After going through an emotional journey, he is seen as a respectable family man as a result of re-evaluating his own beliefs, priorities in life.
When we first meet Richard, he is immediately shown to be a very harsh and egotistical individual. He looks down on his own family, criticising them for not being successful or wealthy like him. He is dismissive of Olive’s (his daughter) dream to be a pageant queen, belittling her and telling her that she is not pretty enough to win. He is also quick to anger, lashing out at those who he perceives as threatening or challenging him in any way.
However, as the film progresses we see Richard slowly start to change. He begins to bond with his family, particularly Olive, and comes to appreciate them for who they are rather than what they can do for him. He also develops a newfound respect for Olive’s dream, and eventually helps her to achieve it.
By the end of the film, Richard has undergone a complete transformation. He is now a loving and supportive father figure, who has genuine pride in his family’s accomplishments. He has also learned to accept people for who they are, even if they don’t meet his standards of success.
This change in Richard’s character is significant because it demonstrates that even the most unlikely people can change for the better given the right circumstances. It also shows that family is more important than anything else in life, and that love and understanding can overcome even the deepest differences.
Richard discusses how one’s views of the world and oneself can shift. Richard starts out with a prejudiced mindset, viewing himself as superior to others. He judges people on his own set of criteria for losers and winners. “There are two categories of people in this world: winners and losers.” Because he does not recognize or comprehend that a person may have qualities of both a winner and a loser, and that we should not be predetermined by superficial identifiers, this demonstrates how ignorant he is.
Richard is also quite ignorant, for example when Dwayne talks about his dreams of becoming a pilot, Richard immediately shuts him down by saying that only idiots would want to become pilots. This shows us that Richard is someone who likes to put people into boxes and does not like it when people do not fit into them. As the film progresses, however, we see Richard’s perceptions start to change. He begins to see the world in a more nuanced way and starts to understand that things are not always as simple as he thought they were.
He also starts to see himself in a different light, realizing that he is not as perfect as he thought he was. This change in perspective is best demonstrated when he finally admits to Olive that he was wrong about her and that she is actually a winner. This is a significant moment because it shows us how much Richard has changed and how he is now able to see the world and himself in a new, more positive light.
The diner scene is a crucial moment in the film that demonstrates Richard’s narrow-mindedness by contrasting his black-and-white attitudes about the divisive subject of concern for one’s appearance within the beauty pageant world. Through his words “fat…or nice and skinny,” Richard exhibits a evident preference for those thinner. In the early sections of the film, he is portrayed as an undesirable individual.
However, as the film progresses, he begins to show signs of change. In particular, he becomes more accepting of Olive’s unique quirks and provides her with unconditional support in her journey to win the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. This ultimately leads to him having a more positive outlook in life, which is evident through his smile at the end of the film.
Richard starts off as a difficult character to like because of his fixed mindset about beauty standards in pageantry. However, he gradually becomes more likable as he begins to accept Olive for who she is and supports her unconditionally throughout her journey to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. This demonstrates growth in Richard’s character and showcases his ability to be more flexible in his thinking. As a result, he becomes a more relatable and ultimately likable character by the end of the film.