Sunshine Cleaning

13 April 2009. Take Amy Adams ("Enchanted" 2007), Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada" 2006), Alan Arkin ("Little Miss Sunshine" 2006), and even Mary Lynn Rajskub ("24" television series 2003-2009) and the comedian actor Steve Zahn in a serious role and you have a rather interesting family drama that was billed more as a comedy. "Sunshine Cleaners" doesn't have the sparkle and delightful humor as "Little Miss Sunshine," instead this film captures more of a brief moment in time where by two sisters learn more about themselves and their relationship with each other. There aren't so much as explanations as experiences from which to learn from and nothing really turns out the way one might expect in this more realistic this-is-life perspective. The pacing of this movie is somewhat ragged and slow, particularly the first half of the movie. This movie provides no great insight, has a mild but solid twist at the end, and provides the audience with two decent human interest stories that reveal human development and human improvement over time. It's a positive if not stunning message about being human. Seven out of Ten Stars.

Reviewed August 2010

Though you know how the story is going to turn out, it was made captivating by fantastic performances by ever too reliable Amy Adams and fast shining Emily Blunt.

I have seen references to Little Miss Sunshine by some of the critics, what's the relation? Checked the writer and director's past movies doesn't include it. I wonder at this this because I thought it felt like Little Miss Sunshine at some level before reading the references. It's a story of a positive minded slightly dysfunctional family who are going through some tough times for bad choices made in the past. The screenplay and conclusion are conventional and made to the writer's comfort. Emily Blunt has a terrific voice diction, hope to see her in some good animated character.

The character Oscar is charming and Grampa is the same as in Little Miss Sunshine. Though this movie does not break any ground, I couldn't find anything that I did not like in it.

From Pasto, Colombia-Via: L. A. CA, CALI COLOMBIA &ORLANDO, FL

There is quite a lot going on in this film with quite a surprising number of cinematic names that really resonate!

But Before beginning my DEEP DIVE...FIRST, Let us FOCUS on the Titles's Content and Context.....

GREAT TITLE! ...BUT Cinema that provokes a strong reaction from me, for good or for bad, is easier to review. "Movies in the Middle", like "SUNSHINE", always present much more of a challenge. "From the same people who brought you 'Little Miss Sunshine'..." This phrase was used a lot in the SUNSHINE PROMOs. Maybe it got in the way of me getting more out of the film. It didn't set very well with me that...

A) Both titles employ the word "SUNSHINE".

B) Alan Arkin basically does a warmed over version of his role in "LITTLE MISS"

C) Both films are about dysfunctional families with a precocious Kid!

Taken as a whole, it just seemed too obvious that "The same people who brought you..." wanted desperately to cash in, AGAIN, and SUNSHINE(2???) is just a vehicle for doing so!

Still, it does have ingratiating qualities. If you can tolerate the slow as molasses initial 30 minutes...(OK-Wait, make that as DELIBERATE as Molasses!), you'll probably feel it was worth your while, a pretty good little indie film, which could easily have been a LOT better.

Catharsis, healing, coping, forgiveness and moving on, are some of the operative buzz-words for "Sunshine Cleaning". Perhaps just a tad too dreary for such a cheery title? "Sunshine" would have benefited from the injection of just a little more comic relief in the mix. The acting fell a little short of expectation. With Amy Adams (Junebug/Doubt) and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) perhaps my expectations were too high! Something was missing. The script was spotty and rather lackluster at times.

The on-screen chemistry was variable. Often, Alan Arkin's presence seemed to be a hindrance to the flow and balance of the scene and the story. SUNSHINE did have a very down-to-earth, realistic feel to it. The problems, reactions to them, and solutions encountered, or not, as the case may be, were believable and mundane; stuff that we all can relate too. Immediately after viewing, I had settled on a 6 Star rating, thinking "Sunshine" was going to be sans ricocheting...But, there has been some of that going on in that 'ID' of mine, hours after viewing. So, we'll up it 7 Stars!

..... ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

A struggling single mom named Rose (Amy Adams in her comedy/drama wheelhouse) gets tired of working for a maid service and boldly decides to branch out into crime scene clean-up with her lay-about sister Norah (Emily Blunt, ironically named) in Christine Jeffs' observant and easy-going "Sunshine Cleaning".

Although it has been marketed as one of those quirky dramedies the studios love to shove down our throats every year, Jeffs' film (from a solid screenplay from Megan Holley) is more in tune with somber yet hopeful indie character studies. The film deals with some dark subject matter and poignantly explores grief and family dysfunction but maintains a positive outlook and contains some solid situational laughs. The combination of an interesting set-up, smart writing, likable characters and winning performances make the film, even when it teeter-totters from dark to sappy, go down smooth. None of the characters seem forced upon us, unlike the overtly quirky family from "Little Miss Sunshine" or the stylized dialog spewing teens from "Juno". These characters talk and interact like real people and there's a naturalism in the way their relationships develop.

It makes for engaged viewing when a film like this doesn't feel the need to explain every detail or tie up every loose end so nicely. Some subplots involving Norah taking a personal interest in one of the clean-up jobs that leads to an awkward friendship with a blood-bank worker (Mary Lynn Rajskub of "24" fame) or a one-armed supply store guy (Clifton Collins Jr.) who takes a shine to Rose aren't resolved in a typical fashion, and some things are never made known or left open-ended. It makes the film feel truer to life. Even when Rose's precocious kid (Jason Spevack) tries to talk to heaven on a CB radio in what would normally be considered a contrived and cutesy moment, you feel like you've grown to know the character and it's just something he would do. Likewise, Alan Arkin as the sisters' scheming entrepreneurial father behaves and acts like a real guy who's had to struggle raising two girls alone and is just trying to help them catch a break.

Amy Adams, of course, is an absolute delight. Something about her girl-next-door good looks combined with her innate talents as a comedienne and her theatrical background that produces some of the best facial expressions and crying-on-cue you'll ever see make her the perfect choice for this type of role. While it's easy to sing the praises of Adams, and she's never been more endearing or relatable than here, Emily Blunt proves to be an excellent foil. It's Blunt's sharp portrayal and her character's story arc that provide the film its emotional weight. Both actresses deserve to be remembered come awards season, and "Sunshine Cleaning" is that rare spring-time bird: a film worthy of buzz.

I find that when people ask me what this movie is about I have a hard time successfully telling them. Read the synopsis by all means, but like most summaries it barely scratches the surface. It's a story about a mother who leaves her family in the most permanent way imaginable. It's about a father struggling to maintain his unflappable optimism, a sister whose self-esteem leads her into self-sabotaging habits, another who is in complete emotional freefall, a son who is becoming aware of his family's dynamic and how it compares to the rest of the world's and how they manage to regain their footing by pursuing a very unusual profession. At its heart it is always about family. At their best Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are some of the most talented actresses working today and I was happy to see them both in a script worthy of their skills. Both are gifted at line delivery, but some of their most powerful scenes are nonverbal. The dynamic between all the characters is thoroughly real and enjoyable. I found myself very satisfied by all their resolutions. It was an excellent story to watch unfold.