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Sunshine Cleaning
Directed by: Christine Jeffs Starring: Amy Adams Genre: Comedy/Drama Run Time: 91 min. Release Date: March 2009 On The Web: Official Site Teaser: Movie Trailer Reviewed by Byron Merritt |
SUNSHINE CLEANING has a dark, dirty side. It isn’t what you think. From many of the previews, you might think it to be a quirky comedy; and on some, short level it is. But it is far from comedic. It is touching and brilliantly acted, has a bare-bones script that cuts straight to the heart, and surprises you at nearly every turn. But it’s really not that funny. Oh it has its moments for sure, but you’ve seen them all in the previews (one of the sisters falling down on a heavily fouled mattress, etc.). The basic story surrounds two sisters, Rose (Amy Adams, MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY) and Norah (Emily Blunt, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA), who struggle at different ends of the same rope; a rope that represents their lives and is knotted in the center by the suicide-death of their beautiful mother. Tugging in one direction is Rose, a single mom trying to make ends meet by working as a cleaning woman and having an affair with former high school – and now married – sweetheart Mac (Steve Zahn, HAPPY TEXAS). Life hasn’t worked out the way Rose has hoped after high school, where she was on the cheerleading team. Problems quickly surface for her as her only child Oscar (Jason Spevack, HOLLYWOODLAND) gets booted from his elementary school for bizarre behavior. Needing to send him to a specialty school (that is expensive) she falls into a job as a crime scene clean-up specialist after getting the advice from lover Mac. Tugging the other direction is Norah, the sister who can’t (or refuses) to hold down a steady job ...except for babysitting Oscar and telling him horror stories about the Lobster Monster (another of the few funny moments in the film). Rose convinces Norah to join her in her new blood and body fluid cleaning business, and the two of them quickly learn how lucrative it can be, and how little they know about its machinations ("You can’t throw contaminated human material into dumpsters?"). But Rose is doing it for her son so that she can afford to send him to an appropriate school, and Norah is doing it so that she can be close to her sister and, perhaps, protect her from some of what might come trickling back, like memories of their mother’s death. Amongst all of this comes Oscars birthday and his desire for a pair of binoculars. Grandpa Joe (Alan Arkin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) has promised to get him a very expensive pair and has to come up with the cash quickly, leading him to make a financial misstep and end up with tons of rotten seafood. It is here that everything comes to a head. Rose and Norah remember that their mother had a bit part in a small TV production and they see a re-run of it one day from the respective homes and this helps remove some of the knot in that rope that each of them holds on to. They also remember that she killed herself in the family bathtub and when Norah enters her father’s house and smells death coming from the bathroom, the memories flood back in. She races in and finds her father bailing dead shrimp from the tub. This was quite a moment if one pays attention. It is the intermix of relationships and how each character deals or doesn’t deal with them that holds this film together and makes it a surprising success. Amy Adams does another great job acting as a vulnerable yet determined woman trying to make good for her son. Emily Blunt is stunning as the confused and embittered sister who loves the smell of everything her mother left behind and deals with her puzzled relationships. Even Jason Spevack does a good job as the weird kid trying to understand what his family is going through and how he’s supposed to act. If you’re in the mood for a good character film, and not necessarily a rousing comedy, you might try tugging on this one.
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DVD cost: $28.98 Purchase: Tower.com (Blu-Ray) Film Review Stew Favorite? No. Stew Poo-Poo? No. Newsworthy: The filmmakers have said in interviews their story is based on a 2001 National Public Radio "All Things Considered" report about two women in the Seattle suburbs who started a biohazard removal/cleaning service. They are best friends, not sisters. Movie Quote: "There's not a lot that I am good at. But I'm good at getting guys to want me. Not date me, or marry me, but want me."
Other Actors/Actresses from Sunshine Cleaning
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