Running time: 102 minutes
Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Jason Spevack, Steve Zahn, Clifton Collins Jr.
Rating 6 out of 10
The poster promotes the fact that this boasts the same producers as Little Miss Sunshine, in addition to which both share the word Sunshine and the presence of Alan Arkin. All presumably done in the hope of replicating the success of the hilarious 2006 indie hit. And while Sunshine Cleaning enjoys some amusing moments, its darker sensibility means the laughs are decidedly less frequent. That there are any in a film about a pair of sisters who clean up crime scenes is surprising in itself.
The premise certainly isn't one that screams comedy. Rose (Amy Adams) is a single mum struggling to look after her troubled seven-year old son Oscar (Jason Spevack). She maintains a long-running and futile affair with her married high school sweetheart Mac (Steve Zahn), and it's he, in his capacity as a policeman, who suggests to her the idea of going into business washing up the blood and detritus of crime scenes. After roping in her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt), the pair set up their company Sunshine Cleaning.
Alan Arkin brings his distinctive droll delivery to the role of the sisters' father, whose wife had some years earlier committed suicide. He is constantly coming up with hair-brain get rich schemes, which invariably do the opposite. Possessed of a quirky, dark humour, Sunshine Cleaning is too slight to make a lasting impression and too light and breezy for its subject matter. Adams and Blunt's jousting is by turns touching and funny, but the film never feels rooted enough in reality to make it more telling.
Directed with a relaxed air by Christine Jeffs from a script by Megan Holley, it drifts along rather sedately, but with an easy charm. The always excellent Adams is engaging as the damaged Rose whose buoyant veneer barely covers her inner desperation. There's a wonderful performance by Clifton Collins Jr. as Winston, the owner of the janitorial supply store where Rose gets her cleaning equipment. His model-making hobby provides a bond between he and Oscar, which in turn involves Rose.
There is much to like about Sunshine Cleaning. Sweet, funny and affecting, it elicits plenty of smiles. But its lack of decisiveness means its never quite one thing or the other. A film about a company that cleans up crime scenes is a good-enough idea and one ripe with potential. Sunshine Cleaning though leaves you with more of a sense of what might have been.
Kevin Murphy
The premise certainly isn't one that screams comedy. Rose (Amy Adams) is a single mum struggling to look after her troubled seven-year old son Oscar (Jason Spevack). She maintains a long-running and futile affair with her married high school sweetheart Mac (Steve Zahn), and it's he, in his capacity as a policeman, who suggests to her the idea of going into business washing up the blood and detritus of crime scenes. After roping in her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt), the pair set up their company Sunshine Cleaning.
Alan Arkin brings his distinctive droll delivery to the role of the sisters' father, whose wife had some years earlier committed suicide. He is constantly coming up with hair-brain get rich schemes, which invariably do the opposite. Possessed of a quirky, dark humour, Sunshine Cleaning is too slight to make a lasting impression and too light and breezy for its subject matter. Adams and Blunt's jousting is by turns touching and funny, but the film never feels rooted enough in reality to make it more telling.
Directed with a relaxed air by Christine Jeffs from a script by Megan Holley, it drifts along rather sedately, but with an easy charm. The always excellent Adams is engaging as the damaged Rose whose buoyant veneer barely covers her inner desperation. There's a wonderful performance by Clifton Collins Jr. as Winston, the owner of the janitorial supply store where Rose gets her cleaning equipment. His model-making hobby provides a bond between he and Oscar, which in turn involves Rose.
There is much to like about Sunshine Cleaning. Sweet, funny and affecting, it elicits plenty of smiles. But its lack of decisiveness means its never quite one thing or the other. A film about a company that cleans up crime scenes is a good-enough idea and one ripe with potential. Sunshine Cleaning though leaves you with more of a sense of what might have been.
Kevin Murphy
