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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: Sunshine Cleaning

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#1 of 1 Posted 3/4/09 10:14 PM

From harveykarten Posts 798 Last Feb-7
To All [Msg # 23753.1 ]

SUNSHINE CLEANING

Overture Films
Reviewed for CompuServe by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed by: Christine Jeffs
Written By: Megan Holly
Cast: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Jason Spevack, Steve Zahn, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Clifton Collins Jr., Eric Christian Olsen, Kevin Chapman
Screened at: Dolby88, NYC, 3/4/09
Opens: March 13, 2009

On the one hand, Christine Jeffs’ “Sunshine Cleaning” is “Little Miss Sunshine” (same producers) light: it lacks the comic verve of Jonathan Dayton and Faris’ 2006 movie taken from Michael Arndt’s script about a family determined to put their nine-year-old into a beauty contest. On the other hand, Jeffs’ product, from Megan Holly’s script, is considerably darker, one involving suicide, murder, the hassles of being a single parent, and a family that is dysfunctional while each of its members—like those inhabiting side roles--is considerably flawed. The mixture of fun and regrets does not always work: one attribute conflicts with the other, often at the same time. But given the appeal of the two leads, Amy Adams (in a decidedly un-nun-like role) and Emily Blunt (with absolutely none of the sophistication she showed as Emily in David Frankel’s “The Devil Wears Prada), we leave the theater with more sunshine in our hearts than gloom at the self-destructive behavior of the sisters they play.

New Zealand-born Jeffs, best known to cinephiles for a portrayal of the romance between Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath in “Sylvia,” situates her movie in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where everyone seems to live in a small house, some with big problems on their minds. Rose (Amy Adams) and her younger sister Norah (Emily Blunt) should by all rights be more successful than they are given their looks, charm, and intelligence but by her admission Rose is “not very good at anything” and Norah is just lazy, perfectly happy to sleep past the morning alarm though cajoled by her dad, Joe Norkowski (Alan Arkin). For his part, Joe lacks focus, spending his time trying to make a living selling anything from chocolate to shrimps, though no-one he pitches wants his products. Rose, who takes care of her seven-year-old son, Oscar (Jason Spevack), complicates her life further by her affair with Mac (Steve Zahn), a married cop whose wife is pregnant for a second time.

At a bloody scene, Mac clues the young women into a well-paying job as crime-scene cleaners—who would scour the blood and sometimes put the contents of an entire house into a dumpster. Without the proper license or specialized knowledge on how to deal with hazardous waste, they team up as the Sunshine Cleaning company.

Alan Arkin does his typical shtick with the young lad, speaking in his traditional exaggerated monotone while Emily Blunt adds to plot complexity with another woman, Lynn (Mary Lynn Rajskub), who affords her own dark secret to the mix. As the film glides to a conclusion that finds the kooky comedy giving way to dispiriting meditations, we are led to believe that the sisters will find their way out of their “we’re not good for anything” ethos in a new venture. Ultimately, “Sunshine Cleaners” is all about family.

Rated R. 92 minutes. © 2009 by Harvey Karten Member: NY Film Critics Online

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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: Sunshine Cleaning

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