Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

Sunshine Cleaners tells the story about two sisters, Norah and Rose. These two couldn't be anymore different from the sun and moon. Rose is a responsible parent, while Norah is lazy, and can't keep a job to save ( or support) her own life. When Roses son, Oscar, is required to take medication drugs for his impulsive behavior, ( why is licking a crime?), Rose takes him out of school, refusing to cooperate with the school and put her son on any type of drug whatsoever. Oscars grandpa argues that there's nothing wrong with him, that he's smart as a whip. In order to put Oscar into private school, Rose wants to start an odd business called Sunshine Cleaners. With the aid of Mac, the married man that she's boning on the side, he uses his connections to get everything the girls need to get started on their new business. Sunshine Cleaners aren't any ordinary cleaners. These gals are going to be cleaning...blood and gore after deaths, suicides, etc. Rose is going to work with Norah, which is going to be more of a challenge then an asset, since Norah is about as irresponsible as they come. Nevertheless, they start making money, despite their differences. Problems arise. They need to get over their squeamishness, for starters. The two sisters don't see eye to eye with the scenes they clean up. Rose has an emotional attachment to each scene, while Norah just sees it as a job. Meanwhile, Oscar is helping to make his own money via the help of grandpa and his shrimp business. ( He loves this little guy, he thinks he's special.) Complications arise in ways that neither one of them imagined possible. At the core of it all, this is a story about a dysfunctional family trying to make amends, and keep it "all" together through thick and thin. It's going to be a bumpy ride! Sunshine Cleaners may win you over instantly, while others may see it as a slow, boring film. If you've made it past the 40 minute mark, you should be drawn in to every ones lives, making this is a simple, fun watch. It's not laugh out loud comedy, but it will make you smile, and somehow, even though it's not always a pleasant sight to see blood on the walls, floors, or ceiling, this movie will still give you a nice warm feeling inside. Pulled off brilliantly. All in all, I thought this was an excellent movie, although this is going to one of those "mixed" reviews movies, since everyone will have their own take on it. It's a unique, joyful roller-coaster ride, so just buckle up, and enjoy the ride with them.

........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL Cinema that provokes a strong reaction from me, for good or for bad, is easier to review. "Movies in the Middle", like "SUNSHINE", always present much more of a challenge. "From the same people who brought you 'Little Miss Sunshine'…" This phrase was used a lot in the SUNSHINE promos. Maybe it got in the way of me getting more out of the film. It didn't set very well with me that… A) Both titles employ the word "SUNSHINE".B) Alan Arkin basically does a warmed over version of his role in "Little Miss" C) Both films are about dysfunctional families with a precocious child.Taken as a whole, it just seemed too obvious that "The same people who brought you…" wanted desperately to cash in, AGAIN, and SUNSHINE(2?)is just a vehicle for doing so! Still, it does have ingratiating qualities. If you can tolerate the slow as molasses initial 30 minutes…(OK-Wait, make that as DELIBERATE as Molasses!), you'll probably feel it was worth your while, a pretty good little indie film, which could easily have been a lot better.Catharsis, healing, coping, forgiveness and moving on, are some of the operative buzz-words for "Sunshine Cleaning". Perhaps just a tad too dreary for such a cheery title? "Sunshine" would have benefited from the injection of just a little more comic relief in the mix. The acting fell a little short of expectation. With Amy Adams (Junebug/Doubt) and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) perhaps my expectations were too high! Something was missing. The script was spotty and rather lackluster at times.The on-screen chemistry was variable. Often, Alan Arkin's presence seemed to be a hindrance to the flow and balance of the scene and the story. SUNSHINE did have a very down-to-earth, realistic feel to it. The problems, reactions to them, and solutions encountered, or not, as the case may be, were believable and mundane; stuff that we all can relate too. Immediately after viewing, I had settled on a 6 Star rating, thinking "Sunshine" was going to be sans ricocheting...But, there has been a little of that going on in that 'Id' of mine, hours after viewing. So, we'll up it to 7 Stars!.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

One of the best touching movie I had seen recently....Good Casting (One being my fav. Amy Adams) and good story with a reason behind what is being done as a business...Screenplay was very perfect and it never makes us feel boring or dragging...Very interesting plot taken in a very interesting way...There are so many scenes which will make you feel the love of someone who is not with you...it can be anyone whom you loved the most....Seriously if someone is living alone, it will make them cry and if someone has lost their mom, they cant avoid their eyes from becoming wet...Very nice movie and I expect such good movies from Hollywood...Good Job Team!

Impression- In its short 90 minutes the film comes off as a heartwarming comedy that is about family. But it's more depressing than happy. Really, at the end of the movie none of the characters really come full circle. Adams seems as though she finally doesn't care what her friends think. But she doesn't make any progress in her work. It's not like she's really going to be making more money by the end anyway. Blunt's character doesn't make any progress. She ends up driving off in the sunset? To do what? How does she have any money for this trip?Complaints- My first gripe with the movie is the opening scene. I thought they could have found a much better way of introducing the movie than a man shooting himself in the head. It was rather startling for me, who thought the movie was about two sisters in a cleaning business. I unabashedly love Emily Blunt but without her accent she didn't have the same appeal. I liked how in your sisters sister they explained Blunt accent my having her be adopted. They could have done the same here. I realize this is a rather strange compliant but I just find Blunt's accent to be incredibly seductive. The character development in this movie I thought was pretty poor, with that being said I thought some of the characters were actually the strong points.Praise- With the script that they had, I loved the acting that was portrayed. I thought Arkin and Clifton Collins Jr were strong points among the cast. Not to mention the young kid who probably has a good future ahead of him. And even in his darker moments it had its funny moments. Arkin shared plenty of great one liners. I also thought there would be much more to the binocular story. But it was merely a way of reminded us the mom had died. I thought the ending was sweet when they both finally saw their mom on T.V. Adams and Blunt are very good at dramatic moments by the way.Overall the movie isn't anything special and is full of clichés, but with the acting and the memorable scenes it deserves a somewhat favorable review.6.7/10