One doesn’t have to look too far to notice the similarities (almost downright retreads) between this film and the other indie darling with Sunshine in the title. Both of the films have a quirky setting in the desert, a kid who speaks and carries on conversations beyond his age, a sarcastic and realistic dad, and they both deal with family drama. I think Sunshine Cleaning was doomed before it ever started with all of the similarities, and the fact that it wasn’t nearly as good as Little Miss Sunshine didn’t help.
What did make the film worthwhile for me was the performances from always charming Amy Adams and “hitting-big-at-the-right-time” Emily Blunt. Together they played sisters who couldn’t be more dissimilar yet who are both, as adults, trying to move on from the death of their mother. Struggling to get by, whether it’s Adams’ cleaning houses for spare change trying to support her 8-yr old son or it’s Blunt smoking pot and living with her grandpa and just being fired from a Chinese burger joint, the sisters embark on a self discovery journey through the eyes of a crime scene cleanup business.
Despite the dark and macabre setting, the honest and brutal performances of both Blunt and Adams are what kept me interested in this film. Adams, as the classic high school cheerleader who now cleans houses for her former classmates, was really the standout in this movie for me. It’s always nice to see a beautiful and talented A-List actress portray someone who is humbled by their own ignorance and innocence. She wasn’t a dumb person per se, or at all, she just couldn’t find her way out of the shadow of who she was in high school. As a former nerd in high school, and current nerd, it was always the hope of mine that one day I’d run into the head cheerleader and the most popular girl in school at a Chili’s waiting tables and barely getting by, and seeing that on screen, seeing how her former classmates treated her as a maid, it really struck me on how some people can’t live without their past. It was Adams’ strength that carried the film and it was her realistic relationship with her sister that provided the depth to this film.
There aren’t many films that get the sibling relationship right. It’s either way too dramatized (Family Stone) and not realistic in its portrayal of dysfunction, or it’s way too nice and glossy (Brady Bunch) in its attempt to present an innocence, but I think Adams and Blunt really nailed a dysfunctional sister relationship. They were loving, they were spiteful, they were sarcastic, they at times pitied one another, they fought for each other and what each other wanted, and they truly loved each other through the blood and death that surrounded them on a daily basis. Blunt played the rebellious sister beautifully, with carelessness and grace at the same time. Watching her work through the death of her mom and realizing how much she missed her and how that loneliness has driven her life into the ground was heartbreaking and extraordinary. I think the film tried too hard and relied on cliche accessories to make sure we knew that Blunt was the rebel. She smoked pot, she had tattoos, she wore black, she had deep black eye liner…that makes her the rebel, ok? You don’t have to wear black to be a rebel but I do understand the film wanting to show us how immature Blunt is and how the death of her mom has stunted her maturity to the point of her being stuck in her rebellious teenage years.
One of the film’s breaths of fresh air was Alan Arkin’s character. He played the wise cracking, sarcastic dad to both Adams and Blunt. Anytime he was on the screen, I was smiling. He was real, he was honest, and he was old. “It’s a business lie. It’s not as bad as a life lie.” His entrepreneurial passions, such as selling bad shrimp to a restaurant or fancy popcorn to a candy store, added nice levity to a pretty heavy film. You can never have too much of Alan Arkin in a film if you ask me.
Overall, Sunshine Cleaning was a good film that wasn’t great. The story was definitely trite and felt very amateur at times, but it was obvious to me that the director, Christine Jeffs, was counting on the two stars carrying the film past its weak story. And they succeeded. Without Emily Blunt and Amy Adams, this movie doesn’t get made and falls into the category of another “indie-film-with-too-many-quirks-and-not-enough-heart.”
Content Warning: Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use. This movie doesn’t show you anything in the trailer that suggests a rated R film…but believe me, it’s rated R for a reason. The crime scenes aren’t that rough, it’s just blood, but the creepiness factor is way up, suicides, homicides, really dark human behavior. And both Adams and Blunt’s sex lives are also on display, though you don’t see any nudity, the suggestive scenes were enough for me to consider looking away at times. Take caution.
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Donna
This is why I love your reviews. This film looked quirky and I thought might be an interesting film to see and it is so nice to know, as far as content warnings, what you will be seeing. You are correct that the trailers would never have made me think it had anything that would make it a R..I figured it was the language and I can handle that in a movie. I am not saying I won’t go see it as I really like the 2 actresses involved in it..it’s just nice to know what you will be seeing and getting into. Thanks for this great review..as usual!!
March 30, 2009 at 9:14 am
Crime Scene Photography MAD SCIENCE PROGRAM APRIL 5 LOOKS AT CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION ..= . «
[...] Sunshine Cleaning Review – Truth on Cinema By Dan … to support her 8-yr old son or it?s Blunt smoking pot and living with her grandpa and just being fired from a Chinese burger joint, the sisters embark on a self discovery journey through the eyes of a crime scene cleanup business. … Truth on Cinema – http://truthoncinema.com/ [...]
March 30, 2009 at 11:28 am
Chris
Arkin played their dad.
Good review. I would also criticize some of the “bridge to nowhere” one armed and lesbian characters.
Even though it was cliche and not as good as the other Sunshine movie, compared to what else is in theaters now it’s probably the best bet to see.
Also, the great previews are worth a mention.
March 30, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Dan
Thanks for the catch Chris. He’s old so my mind automatically went to grandpa.
That’s a great point about the “bridge to nowhere” characters. I wonder if they just wanted us to make the connection for them, automatically assume the one armed man would end up with Adams, or that the lesbian from 24 would just fade away…
I am glad we didn’t listen to me and go see Monsters vs. Aliens, I have read and heard that it was terrible. Way to go Chris, Kim, and Viv for not listening to me.
Thanks for the heads up Chris!!
Movies love you.
March 30, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Megan
this is my first time posting on tOc but i saw sunshine cleaning and had to echo a few things said…i really liked Emily Blunt’s character and the best scenes in the movie to me were the flashbacks to their mother. for me, the shots of them at the end watching their mothers ’5 seconds of fame’ was really moving and well put together. i always love a movie that can make you laugh and cry, and this one was perfect for that!
March 30, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Dan
Megan, thanks for stopping by!
My wife and the friends we went with to see the film all liked Blunt’s character more than Adams. I really enjoyed her vulnerability with her sister and especially the end…thanks for the reminder!
I look forward to hearing more from you Megan.
March 31, 2009 at 7:46 am
johnny thunders
i disagree with a lot of this review, especially the part about little miss sunshine being better.
i didn’t love this film, but was actually surprised that i liked it quite a bit. the story wasn’t anything new, but the script was great and the performances were phenomenal. the edge it has over little miss, is that it’s actually consistent. the tone of the film doesn’t dramatically shift in the third act and become a different film. little miss has this really great subtle humor and then it becomes national lampoons indie vacation in the third act and destroys everything it’s built. i liked that they didn’t do that here.
also, i like the so-called “bridge to nowhere” characters, because they were far from that. both characters that are mentioned played a heavy part in changing the two leads. if you didn’t notice how that happened then i’m not really sure you were paying attention to the movie.
April 30, 2009 at 10:43 am
Dan
I really liked the one-armed man and his genuineness with Amy Adams. I thought the contrast between how he treated her with how Steve Zahn treated her was touching and helped to curve my opinion of Adams’ character.
I tend to knee jerk with my reactions to movies the day after, I need to let movies soak for a while…or maybe I don’t.
April 30, 2009 at 12:17 pm
johnny thunders
that’s my point, those characters added a lot. she might hook up with the one armed man later, but that wasn’t the point. he changed her in a way. she saw that people might shun him because he was different but he was someone that was there for her. and the people that used to love her because she was the popular cheerleader weren’t there for her. he’s a big part of her character arc.
the same with the lesbian character. she helped blunt’s character to move on, to realize she didn’t have to live in the shadow of what happened as a child.
i think it was a really great subtle character piece, and everyone was great in it. i always love amy adams, steve zahn and alan arkin, and they were amazing here. and emily blunt did an amazing job too. i loved the kid, because he was a more believable kid than the kid in little miss. altogether i think it was a really great understated character piece that is very worthy of watching.
April 30, 2009 at 4:12 pm