Stars:
** 1/2
Rating: R for language,
gore and sexuality
Run
Time: 1
hour, 42 minutes
Amy Adams
packs her winning charm in this ultra quirky dramedy about fielding life’s
curveballs.
Rose Norkowski
(Adams) is between a rock and hard spot – shacking up with ex-high school
squeeze cum married cop Mac (Steve Zahn), raising a kid on her own and wasting
her shiny potential by cleaning houses for a living.
A chance
suggestion by Mac (after a particularly unsavory day on the job) turns to gold
when Rose partners with sister Norah (Emily Blunt) to start her own crime scene
clean-up company, aptly named Sunshine Cleaning. If gory biohazard removal
isn’t a growth industry then what is?
The
frustrations pile on fast and furious; Norah’s reluctance to cope with life’s
tough realities (and body parts), finding precious spare time for a
certification in blood-borne pathogens (affectionately known as BBP), and coping with a feisty, huckster dad (Alan Arkin reprising his
“Little Miss Sunshine” routine) who’s perpetually one scheme away from making
it.
The expected conventions
are all in place – a mysterious childhood tragedy, a surprising love interest
(the always intriguing Clifton Collins Jr.) and the challenges of single
parenting. Adams has the chops, bringing a fresh spin to deep hurts and a spark
to her determination to get things right. Blunt plays off her with ease – two
hot actresses on their inevitable paths to greatness. But the narrative has
trouble balancing its dark tones and its peculiar humor, never finding a
comfortable niche.
Climax is an
unnecessary stretch for a happy ending – cashing in on same production
company’s “Sunshine” (are we sensing a theme here?) and its electric box office
success.