Sunshine Cleaning (A Review)

Sunshine Cleaning stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Alan Arkin. The movie is, on the surface, about two sisters that start a crime scene clean-up business titled Sunshine Cleaning. Rose (Adams) is a single mom, struggling to come to grips with being a has-been and not marrying the love of her life. Norah (Blunt), the younger sibling, lives at home, stays out late partying, and makes a very small impact on society.

Both sisters are in need of money, and, through a series of pulling strings, they start up the crime scene clean-up job. While they work and travel, Rose leaves her son in care of his grandfather, Joe (Arkin).

There are many themes operating throughout Sunshine Cleaning, with family being at the top. How much responsibility does an older sibling have in raising a younger sibling, especially in a single parent home? This question runs along with the movie, and the viewer can feel the love Rose has for Norah and the responsibility she feels for her.

One thing I enjoyed about Sunshine Cleaning is the realistic setting of the movie. I can easily picture this tragi-comic movie taking place down the road, happening to a family or a friend. Realism is often sobering, and should induce social-introspection, and such is the case of this film.

Another plus for the movie is the superb acting of Adams, Blunt, and Arkin. The trio performs brilliantly. You can laugh with them, sympathize for them, and probably cry, too, if you're into that sort of thing. The cast was great, even the minor roles.

Overall, I can recommend watching Sunshine Cleaning. It's a heart-warming tale about family, relationships, and perseverance, filled with humor and love, even when dealing with a bloody crime-scene. The movie is MPAA Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality, and drug use, so I wouldn't recommend it for the wee folk. However, I didn't feel that any of the aforementioned was overly used and abused.