Sunshine Cleaning Review
The trick is in the casting, director John Huston used to say. But he neglected to add that timing is everything.
New Zealander Christine Jeffs (Sylvia) certainly hit lucky with her two leads here. Both were promising up and comers two and a half years ago when they signed up for this independently financed, mid-budget comedy drama, but Amy Adams and Emily Blunt have gone on to bigger and still bigger things, making Sunshine Cleaning, if not quite a must-see, then at least a popular item on the rental queue lists.
It’s timely in other ways too. In January 08, when Sunshine Cleaning premiered at the Sundance Film Festival it was widely patronized as yet another quirky US indie following hard on the heels of Little Miss Sunshine. Not only does it share a word in the title, and an actor, it even comes from the same production outfit.
Eighteen months later, now the wheels have come off the global economy, this tale of two sisters joining forces to dig themselves out of hard times feels a lot more relevant.
Cast details
-
Amy Adams
Born: 20 Aug 1974
AvianoTop rated films View all Julie and Julia (2009) 
Enchanted - BLU-RAY Version (2007)
-
Emily Blunt
Born: 23 Feb 1983
London, EnglandTop rated films View all The Young Victoria (2009) 
Between them, Rose (Adams) and Norah (Blunt) struggle with menial jobs and periods of unemployment, with solo parenting (Rose) and solo everything else (Norah). Together, they’re also coping with the nasty emotional residue of their mom’s long-ago suicide – a trauma which is likely responsible for their current troubles. Self-esteem isn’t a strong point for either of them.
As Sunshine Cleaning dawns they’re both scraping by. If Norah is out of work before we’ve settled into our popcorn she’s not overly concerned by her situation, so nor are we. Rose, on the other hand, is desperate to graduate from cleaning other people’s middle-class homes. It’s not just that the humiliation of laundering for her old school friends is getting her down; she needs the money to put her “difficult” kid into the kind of school that will give him a chance.
It’s Rose’s married boyfriend – and old high school sweetheart – Mac (Steve Zahn) who spies a new niche. A homicide detective, he’s watching the cleaning crew bag the blown brains of a shotgun enthusiast when he overhears the proprietor of the building grousing about the three grand this is costing him. Granted, blood and intestinal juices aren’t everybody’s cup of tea, but that kind of return sure beats washing Mrs Johansson’s curtains for $30 an hour.
CSM: Crime Scene Maid. This isn’t a job you’re likely to find down at the employment office, but somebody must be doing the dirty work. Rose and Norah – incorporated – find that the stench takes some getting used to, and there’s a whole new arsenal of cleaning fluids to master, but they set-to with a positive attitude and like to think they’re doing their bit to put the world to rights.
Sunshine Cleaning: Emily Blunt & Amy Adams
From this unusual set up the movie might have skewed in any number of ways… The sisters might have uncovered evidence of corruption and murder, for instance, perhaps implicating Mac?
Written by Megan Holley, Sunshine Cleaning is nowhere near so abrasive or generic. Instead it puts a sympathetic, gentle comic gloss on the characters’ fundamentally forgivable foibles and imperfections.
Norah tracks down the daughter of one suicide (Mary Lynn Rajskub) to present her with mementos that should have been destined for the junkyard – and sheepishly ends up befriending her instead. Is it sexual, or is she projecting her own family angst? Emily Blunt’s edgy performance keeps us guessing. Norah’s a bit of a flake, but she’s animated by her anger and her rebellious streak.
Rose is easier to understand. She’s determined to seize this chance to dig herself out of the hole and recapture the promise she used to see in herself. Adams has a knack for putting a brave face on things – something about the way she tilts her chin up while her mouth goes in three directions at once. She keeps our rooting interest in Rose alive even when her choices seem misguided or naïve.
A subplot concerning Rose’s son bonding with Joe (Alan Arkin), the sisters’ loveable but infuriating father (you know the kind: he buys bulk orders of shrimp off the back of a lorry) tips us too far into the realms of quirk, perhaps. The character is useful, and an amusing grouch, but it’s just about impossible to imagine this man bringing up these girls.
Ironically, for a movie that was marketed in the US with the one-liner “Life’s a messy business”, Holley’s script has been polished to within an inch of its life. Emotions are experienced most vividly when they’re raw, but in Sunshine Cleaning feelings come filtered through neat-and-tidy grace notes. The film flirts with dangerous material but it’s too intent on putting the sunny side up to get its hands dirty. The way Jeffs tells it, not only is suicide painless it can be positively feel-good.
That’s too easy for real life, but right now feel-good will feel just fine to a lot of people.
Sunshine Cleaning Reviews
loading...
-
Critics' reviews
View all -
Try if you can to avoid the inevitable salvo of assurances that Sunshine Cleaning is this years Little Miss... read more on Time Out
-
Most helpful members' reviews (3)
View all -
33 out of 33 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
superb.............................
-
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Excellent performances all round
Basiclly, this is about two sisters and their father who in their seperate ways, and despite their best efforts, are all going nowhere. One of the sisters, Amy Adams, is a house cleaner/maid who is having an affair with a married cop. He mentions how much money it costs to bring in a specialist who cleans up after there's been a murder or 'messy' death so (without spoiling the rest of the story), Adams takes up this idea with her sister ......
Well worth watching with excellent performances throughout and a quirky but good story too. Like Little Miss Sunshine, you really get drawn into this family and really want them to all 'come through'. Look out for the one armed shop assistant from the industrial cleaning shop - again, subtle but excellent performance. Might not won't do well commercially but definitely one to watch. -
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Rich characters, and a poignant story of hope!
This movie, like Little Miss Sunshine is not for everyone. You either get it or you don't. If your idea of a good movie is pure escapism then don't bother watching this movie, because the movie deals with real life and some unpleasant issues. What I really loved about both films is that despite the messiness that comes with life and being alive and portrayed by the specific situations the characters find themselves in, in this film, there is a thread of humour and HOPE! The movie deals with a family and their relationships following the suicide of their mother many years earlier.We see Rose, a bright young woman, who started out as a popular cheerleader in school dating the most popular boy, only to end up as a single mother, cleaning other people's houses for a living. She continues to 'see' her high school sweetheart even though he has married another woman.Nora,(Blunt) plays her messed up sister, who still hasn't come to terms with their mother's suicide.The movie centres around both their relationships, but since all the characters are so rich and deeply interesting what you get is a movie of sheer emotional involvement from the viewers part from start to end (be prepared to use alot of tissues. This is a real weepy!). This is a movie of emotional substance for anyone who wants their movies to offer them viewing enrichment! A fantastic watch!
-
Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Rich characters, and a poignant story of hope!
This movie, like Little Miss Sunshine is not for everyone. You either get it or you don't. If your idea of a good movie is pure escapism then don't bother watching this movie, because the movie deals with real life and some unpleasant issues. What I really loved about both films is that despite the messiness that comes with life and being alive and portrayed by the specific situations the characters find themselves in, in this film, there is a thread of humour and HOPE! The movie deals with a family and their relationships following the suicide of their mother many years earlier.We see Rose, a bright young woman, who started out as a popular cheerleader in school dating the most popular boy, only to end up as a single mother, cleaning other people's houses for a living. She continues to 'see' her high school sweetheart even though he has married another woman.Nora,(Blunt) plays her messed up sister, who still hasn't come to terms with their mother's suicide.The movie centres around both their relationships, but since all the characters are so rich and deeply interesting what you get is a movie of sheer emotional involvement from the viewers part from start to end (be prepared to use alot of tissues. This is a real weepy!). This is a movie of emotional substance for anyone who wants their movies to offer them viewing enrichment! A fantastic watch!
-
Well Worth A Watch
Really loved watching this film. Was a pretty kool film and a must watch
-
33 out of 33 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
superb.............................
-
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Excellent performances all round
Basiclly, this is about two sisters and their father who in their seperate ways, and despite their best efforts, are all going nowhere. One of the sisters, Amy Adams, is a house cleaner/maid who is having an affair with a married cop. He mentions how much money it costs to bring in a specialist who cleans up after there's been a murder or 'messy' death so (without spoiling the rest of the story), Adams takes up this idea with her sister ......
Well worth watching with excellent performances throughout and a quirky but good story too. Like Little Miss Sunshine, you really get drawn into this family and really want them to all 'come through'. Look out for the one armed shop assistant from the industrial cleaning shop - again, subtle but excellent performance. Might not won't do well commercially but definitely one to watch. -
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Rich characters, and a poignant story of hope!
This movie, like Little Miss Sunshine is not for everyone. You either get it or you don't. If your idea of a good movie is pure escapism then don't bother watching this movie, because the movie deals with real life and some unpleasant issues. What I really loved about both films is that despite the messiness that comes with life and being alive and portrayed by the specific situations the characters find themselves in, in this film, there is a thread of humour and HOPE! The movie deals with a family and their relationships following the suicide of their mother many years earlier.We see Rose, a bright young woman, who started out as a popular cheerleader in school dating the most popular boy, only to end up as a single mother, cleaning other people's houses for a living. She continues to 'see' her high school sweetheart even though he has married another woman.Nora,(Blunt) plays her messed up sister, who still hasn't come to terms with their mother's suicide.The movie centres around both their relationships, but since all the characters are so rich and deeply interesting what you get is a movie of sheer emotional involvement from the viewers part from start to end (be prepared to use alot of tissues. This is a real weepy!). This is a movie of emotional substance for anyone who wants their movies to offer them viewing enrichment! A fantastic watch!
-
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Ok, a good story.
I've not seen Little Miss Sunshine, who also made this film as well so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I hear that its not as good. Quite a depressing film about family life and struggles, but a good story nonetheless. I couldn't help but keep remembering the main character as the Princess in Enchanted, this is such a different role for her - she's a good actress. Not sure I'd recommend it, could put a downer on your good mood.
-
- DCM from Buckinghamshire
- Posted 23 Jun 2009 07:39
-
Sunshine
I am not the kind of viewer that needs all stories wrapped up to finish a film 'happy ever after' (don't get me wrong, sometimes its nice but...) When I m watching a film, which you can tell is from the same indie as Little Miss Sunshine, with similar cinematography and intelligent storylines, I expected an ending of similar callibre...I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong the film is great...but something about the ending felt like a cop out. Overall though, a good film, and nice to see an indie continue to strive!
-
[Highly rated reviewer]
3 stars??? really?? IT DESERVES MORE
i gave it 4 1/2 star. this is another example of how indie film triumphs over £00309449585492 million movies
this is one of the most beautiful movies i have ever seen. i thoroughly enjoyed it from strt to finish.
it have some clever humour and awesome complex narrative and characters.
-
- BorisK from Essex
- Posted 13 Nov 2009 14:53
-
Very good
A good, simple story line which rolls along at an effective pace. Very strong and convincing performances from all of the actors.
-
[Highly rated reviewer]
very funny
a very good comedy drama funny very good story a must
-
Long fuse, stunning firework
Bit of a slow start in my opinion but then I'm shallow. However stick it out because it builds into a rewarding watch. Brilliant cast.
-
Sunshine Cleaning
If you're looking for a funny, offbeat comedy, this film will certainly hit the spot. Without being over the top this film manages to keep it real and keep you smiling. Definitely recommend for those for a taste for all that's not run of the mill.
Critics' reviews
-
Try if you can to avoid the inevitable salvo of assurances that Sunshine Cleaning is this years Little Miss... read more on Time Out