While it may sound like Little Miss Sunshine's poor relative, or Sundance by-the-numbers, this is an enjoyable, poignant, moving and - yes - funny film in its own right.
Sunshine Cleaning (2009)
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Reviews Counted:150
Fresh:108
Rotten:42
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Despite a sometimes overly familiar plot, Sunshine Cleaning benefits from the lively performances of its two stars.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use.
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:26-06-2009
Synopsis: From the producers of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE comes the charming Sundance hit SUNSHINE CLEANING, a spirited comedy-drama starring Amy Adams (DOUBT, ENCHANTED) as single-mom Rose Lorkowski, a plucky... From the producers of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE comes the charming Sundance hit SUNSHINE CLEANING, a spirited comedy-drama starring Amy Adams (DOUBT, ENCHANTED) as single-mom Rose Lorkowski, a plucky ex-cheerleader now cleaning houses and having an affair with her high-school sweetheart, Mac (Steve Zahn). When Mac, a police detective, suggests the lucrative job opportunities in crime-scene cleanup, Rose enlists her sister, Norah (Emily Blunt), to join her in the gory but ultimately fulfilling business enterprise. The sisterly chemistry between Adams and Blunt is impressive and forms the crux of their characters' growth throughout the film: Rose’s optimism--reciting self-affirmations and positive spins on her occupation ("It’s a growth industry")--complements Norah’s cynical, wickedly humorous exterior, which hides her bruised, vulnerable heart. Rounding out this likable cast is Alan Arkin, appearing as Joe, the sisters' lovably grumpy father, and Jason Spevack, who plays Rose’s eight-year-old son, Oscar. SUNSHINE CLEANING has all the familiar ingredients of a small independent feature (dysfunctional family spanning three generations, offbeat comic situations, dark emotional subtext), but thanks to the keen directorial hand of Christine Jeffs (who also directed the Sylvia Plath biopic, SYLVIA), and a smart screenplay from first-time writer Megan Holley, the film manages to transcend indie-film quirkiness, offering a heartfelt story of family bonds and the unexpected curveballs in life’s road. [More]
Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn
Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn, Jason Spevack, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Clifton Collins, Eric Christian Olsen, Kevin Chapman
Director: Christine Jeffs
Director: Christine Jeffs
Screenwriter: Megan Holley
Producer: Glenn Williamson, Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Jeb Brody
Composer: Michael Penn
Studio: Overture Films
Reviews for Sunshine Cleaning
Jeffs makes a good fist of the direction and Blunt proves that she can do comedy, but it’s Adams’s comforting, charismatic central turn which really gives the film its lift.
Ultimately, the film is too neat, and too cloyingly sweet to tackle anything resembling real life.
Instead of something fresh and funny, this film is as formulaic and empty as any Hollywood blockbuster.
This is nearly a decent family comedy - but like the mantra-chuntering character Adams plays, it's just not confident enough of its strong points to really stand out.
Far from being a tragic grind, Sunshine Cleaning is one long, wonderful irony. It feels like a first film – delicate, fresh and female.
Jeffs shows economy in her direction and steers through the potentially difficult script with skilful handling of tone and mood, wonderfully striking balance between laughs and tears. What a relief it is to unearth this quietly sparkling gem.
Sunshine Cleaning gets an A for Amy Adams. Injecting some heartfelt, three-dimensional zest into the wispy, two-dimensional story, she spares this copycat indie’s blushes and scores a winning combo with Blunt.
The film has poor commercial prospects, as its plot is too slender, its tone too blandly upbeat.
It's a film so achingly average it almost deserves an award for mediocrity.
The plot dithers and zigzags but only because human credibility, helped by excellent acting, has been allowed to prevail over Sundance-institutionalised designer whimsy.
It's not on a par with Little Miss: there's some whimsical-tragical stuff about talking to the dead via CB radio, and the producers might want to think beyond using "Sunshine" in a title again. But I would have been sorry to miss this.
Sunshine Cleaning is a winning combination of heartbreak and quirky humour.
Sunshine Cleaning will be the sleeper of this year, a movie soon to be talked about in the same breath as Sideways, Juno and Little Miss Sunshine.
Sunshine Cleaning is not perverse for the sake of it: its eccentricities arise from characters whose lives fall outside the life guide manuals.
Could have been a little more darkly comic in places but the performances are superb.
Megan Holley's script feels like it's been Sundance-workshopped to death. However, the cast - led by Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin - establishes a vibrantly odd family bond that sustains "Sunshine Cleaning" through its dimmer portions.
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