Review: Sunshine Cleaning

30ish Amy Adams’ life is pretty much going nowhere. The single mum to young Jason Spevak gets by on a house cleaning gig and is boinking married cop Steve Zahn. She wants more money so that the somewhat troubled Spevak can go to a private school. It’s Zahn who suggests to her a better way of earning money, cleaning up crime scenes. So, enlisting the help of her aimless sister Emily Blunt, the duo begin their rather nasty business venture. Alan Arkin plays the sisters’ father, who has a history of ‘get rich never’ schemes. Clifton Collins Jr. turns up as a nice, one-armed cleaning supplies store owner and model plane enthusiast, whilst Mary Lynn Rajskub plays the daughter of a crime scene victim whom Blunt, in a moment of ill-advised good intentions (possibly born out of her and Adams losing their own mother to suicide a long time ago), seeks out.

 

Two of the best young (ish) actresses going around deserve better than this overly familiar 2009 film from director Christine Jeffs (“Sylvia”) and debutant writer Megan Holley. They’re terrific (I’m sort of in love with them, Emily Blunt especially), and there’s some interesting names and faces in the supporting cast, but overall this one’s just a little underdone for me, if centring around a cute premise. The character well-played by Alan Arkin is a regrettable one, because although Arkin is solid, the character and performance are virtually a repeat of his work in “Little Miss Sunshine”, minus the cocaine. It really brings the film down a bit, and I lay most of the blame at Holley’s feet, to be honest.

 

But none of the film’s subplots are very interesting nor handled well. In particular, Emily Blunt and Mary Lynn Rajskub have a ‘thing’ that sorta flops and dies, through no fault of either actress. It’s just not written convincingly, goes in the least interesting direction possible, and doesn’t have a remotely satisfying conclusion, leaving more questions than answers. That said, Clifton Collins Jr. gets to play a nice guy for the first time in ages, and does well with it. Much less enjoyable is the character of Adams’ unruly son, played by Jason Spevak. He’s an annoying little shit with no manners and no conception of privacy or personal property whatsoever. Remove him and Arkin, and the film is still flawed, but greatly improved.

 

The two leading ladies definitely deserve praise here. Emily Blunt has the least defined role of the two, but as the ‘wild child’ of the two, she’s charismatic and well-cast, bringing as much depth and shading to her part as she possibly can with what little she has been given. This is one helluva showcase for Adams, though, whatever the quality of the film itself. She is immediately perfect in this. I know she can do all kinds of different things, but no other actress epitomises the phrase ‘thoroughly winning’ better than Adams. She makes you immediately warm to her character, and the filmmakers owe her a debt of gratitude. She really sells the seriousness with which this character approaches this job, and the unfortunate circumstances that make such a job necessary in the first place.

 

The whole thing feels a bit light, slight, and disappointing, but the two lead actresses at least make a little more out of this than is on paper. Definitely one for Amy Adams fans (but isn’t everyone in love with her?), and not just because she spends a lot of the first half looking sexy as hell in her underwear. That helps, though. But as far as giving it a grade, I’m afraid I can’t quite commit to a good one here. There’s just too much wrong with the screenplay. A real shame.

 

Rating: C+