Sunshine Cleaning

Why bother trying to come up with clever film comparisons when the most obvious and legitimate one already exists? "Sunshine Cleaning" is almost but not quite...very much like...well, sort of kind of in the same family...most definitely like "Little Miss Sunshine". This of course makes a lot of sense since the films share the same producing team. Seriously though, it brings so many of the same elements to the table: Alan Arkin, cute little kid, familial instability, and incredibly sad themes darkly veiled in sheer comedic genius.

"Sunshine Cleaning" tells the story of two sisters (played so believably by Amy Adams and Emily Blunt) and their attempt at going into business for themselves as a crime scene cleanup crew. It's gross, it's hilarious, and it's sad. On many levels I appreciated it more than "Little Miss Sunshine". Perhaps it was the absurdity of the premise (do you know anyone who's into bio hazard removal?) or the more feminine slant this film seems to take - I'm not exactly sure what it was but here are some reasons you should see it...even if you have seen "Little Miss Sunshine".

1) Amy Adams - until this film, I had only seen her in "Enchanted" and was unenthused (by the way, no qualified online dictionary seems to want to call unenthused a word, but it seems like it should be, doesn't it? Anyway, it's in. I'm keeping it). I thought she nailed that role, but it seemed like that would be it for her - bubbly Disneyesque heroines for the rest of her career. Her performance in "Sunshine Cleaning" as Rose is a sympathetic treat though at times you kind of want to slap her - I think that's the point.
2) Emily Blunt - love her! She plays the bratty, troubled, pain in the ass Norah with total conviction. Essentially you want to hold her down and give her a big hug and tell her it will be okay even though you know she'll be kicking and screaming at you the whole time. Through all of that she still manages to leave you with a hint of possibility that she just might need that hug and actually hug you back.
3) Cute little kid (his name is Jason Spevack) - not the strongest little actor but he's right up there in terms of the cuteness factor and that's half the game when you're under 13.
4) Steve Zahn - I don't think I've ever met a Steve Zahn movie I didn't like (ooh, he was in "National Security"...and "You've Got Mail"?). Perhaps I've never seen a Steve Zahn character that he hasn't completely blown out of the water. He is rock solid - serious or hilarious. I must say in this film he is subdued and isn't able to do much with the role - which is upsetting on some levels. Seems like pretty much any Jo Schmo could have played Rose's jack-ass cheating lover and instead it's a complete waste of Steve Zahn. Oh well, they can't all be "Out of Sight" can they?
5) New Mexico. How often do you see a film shot there?
6) A little discomfort can be fun.

Go see it. You might be surprised at how touching it is.