Sunshine Cleaning

2008 "life's a messy business."
6.8| 1h31m| R| en| More Info
Released: 18 January 2008 Released
Producted By: Big Beach
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.sunshinecleaning-themovie.com
Info

A single mother and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy. In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school the mom starts an unusual business – a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service.

Genre

Drama, Comedy

Watch Online

Sunshine Cleaning (2008) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Christine Jeffs

Production Companies

Big Beach

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial
Watch Now
Sunshine Cleaning Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

Sunshine Cleaning Audience Reviews

Konterr Brilliant and touching
Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
gabeaquick This movie wasn't the greatest. It didn't boast incredible performances. What it did do was make you wonder if a one armed man could snag Amy Adams. If that doesn't suck you in right there then this movie isn't for you. A middle aged single mom moves her maid business to the bio hazardous waste business. She recruits her sister and soon they begin to make good money. She has a son who just so happens to not be that annoying as a child actor. Alan Arkin is beside him in most scenes making his lines seem believable. There's a lot more to the movie but the overall summary is a feel good story about two sisters who despite their strong shells, have had a rough time in life. Not a comedy, but not a bore. Amy Adams cleavage is available in substantial amounts. If you want to sit down and leave saying "That was good ", then look no further this movie is for you. Unless your mother committed suicide, then this movie is directed towards you and I'm very sorry for your loss.
ohyeahmeow I love this movie. It has all my favorite actors.However, the film got me really confused about the family dynamic between Alan Arkin, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Blunt's performance is lovely but her American accent in this film is just terrible. I kinda blame on the casting department a little bit or at least put her in some American classes before filming for god sake. I was really nervous for Henry Cavill causing a little controversy when he was chosen to play historical Superman, but as a young rising star he did such a great job on his American accent. Some critics mentioned Blunt's accent is a part of this film's humor. Really and how? We don't know Hugh Laurie is British in House,Hugh Jackman and his perfect American accent. Not just doing a perfect American accent, Australian actor Ryan Kwanten does the best Southern accent in True Blood. Is this movie's budget really low or the producer is too cheap to train Blunt's tongue. The film is beautifully done but fails in basic common mistake, three family members all have different accents.
estebangonzalez10 "We come into people's lives when they have experienced something profound - and sad. And they've lost somebody, you know? And um, the circumstances, they're always different. But that's the same. And we help. In some small way we, um, we help."Directed by Christine Jeffs (Sylvia) and written by Megan Holley, Sunshine Cleaning is one of those small indie films with big performances and a feel good story that allows the audience to connect with its characters. It's hard to resist despite its clichés and flaws, given it has very strong lead performances from Amy Adams and Emily Blunt and very well written female characters that are rare to find making it hard not to sympathize with them. This is a solid indie that manages to balance really well the dark humor with the drama. Many people might have issues with the forced ending, but the emotional detail that Blunt and Adams give to their characters makes this a film worth watching. A lot of credit must be given to screenwriter Holley for creating such strong and believable female characters in a lead role which are really rare to find nowadays. The performance from the cast only enhances this aspect of the film making single parenting look as hard as it really is. The film wouldn't have worked if it weren't for the performances and the balance in shifts of tones between humor and drama which Jeffs found. Rose (Amy Adams), a single mother to her seven year old son Oscar (Jason Spevack), is a responsible and hard working parent who is making a living as a house cleaner while she is trying to find time to finish her studies to become a real estate agent. Her sister, Norah (Emily Blunt), is a free spirited woman who finds it difficult to hold on to any job as she continues to live with her father Joe (Alan Arkin). Norah and Rose haven't had a normal childhood since their mother committed suicide when they were still very young. Being the older sister, Rose had to grow up as the responsible child. She was successful in High School but her glory days seem to be behind her as she now has to settle to having an affair with her teenage sweetheart Mac (Steve Zahn) who is now a married cop. When her young son is expelled from yet another school, Rose tries to come up with more money to put him into a private school. Mac tells her how the people who clean up after crime scenes make a lot of money, so she decides to start her own business with her sister and thus begin cleaning up after messy and bloody crime scenes. The cleaning business will also lead Rose and Norah to clean up some of the emotional distress from their past as they begin to recall them through familiar situations.Sunshine Cleaning might be considered as simply another feel good indie film that tries to manipulate the audience through a roller-coaster of emotions while seeming to tie everything up perfectly and neatly at the end. This forced ending might be a let down, but I found it to work thanks to the amount of time invested in the lives of these unique characters. Adams and Blunt both are superb here as they deliver strong performances and add a lot of emotional depth to their characters. Clifton Collins Jr also gives a memorable performance as a possible future love interest for Rose, but the story really focuses on her as she struggles to manage the different challenges life throws at her. She is a reminder to all of us that life is worth living despite the struggles that we may be forced to go through, and that perhaps those small simple moments are the ones that make our lives a better place. Rose continues to stay positive despite the obstacles she faces and realizes that life is worth living despite it all. The monologue she delivers near the end of the film summarizes what this film was all about. Kudos to the director and screenwriters for presenting us with two strong female characters and allowing them to be the heart and soul of the film.
Chris L Sunshine Cleaning develops a "slice of life" script typical of the indie scene, quite enjoyable, carried by a very good cast with an Adam-Blunt duo that works and an always extra energized Alan Arkin. As for the direction, pretty simple, it didn't fall into the cliché of the indie scene which is always good to point out.Despite everything, the movie seems to lack ambition: the plot is rather classic and the stakes are not enough defined and developed to expect convincing the viewer entirely. The characters aren't totally exploited either such as Joe (the father) or Oscar (the son). The ending is particularly abrupt and expeditious as if the writer didn't know where to go even though a lot of questions are left unanswered.