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 this 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

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

Director

Christine Jeffs

Production Companies

Big Beach

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Sunshine Cleaning Audience Reviews

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!
ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
tdrish 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.
magnuslhad Rose works as a maid while trying to raise her troublemaker (according to the school) son. Her sister Norah still lives with Dad, unable to hold down a simple job and fully immersed in her slacker lifestyle. The father Joe seems to have ambitions to be an entrepreneur in his retirement years. When Rose's lover and father of her child suggests she start a cleaning business taking care of crime scenes, it looks like she might be able to turn her life around. Amy Adams is full of neurotic energy as Rose. Stung by a chance encounter with an old schoolmate, she starts to make efforts to achieve the status she believes a former top cheerleader should attain. The storyline of starting the business, overcoming the queasiness and glimpsing success before setbacks kick in, is all nicely done. The characters are natural and engaging. Emily Blunt as Norah is aimless and affable. She makes a connection borne from misplaced compassion. The joyless sex she puts herself through with her sometime boyfriend, and her lack of work ethic, point to something missing in her life. But she is a doting aunt and empathetic being, who needs to go be her better self. And both women need to face up to the dark legacy of their mother. The narrative doesn't always hold up however, and some episodes appear random. Oscar's behavioural problems are overplayed, especially the licking. Dad buying shrimp is also a storyline that just dangles on the edges. Some conversations with heaven via CB radio do not quite convince. And a character having one arm seems too much of a deliberate play for quirkiness. The ending, involving some baby shower nonsense and a sibling fall out, seems rather forced and spoon-fed. Good acting, some nice relationships, but in the end this in no Little Miss Sunshine.
Thomas Drufke 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
Simone Navarotti Plot: Two screw-up, immoral sisters start a crime scene clean up company.If you're not laughing already, then you will not laugh much at this movie. Personally, I didn't laugh at all. I LOVE indie movies, the quirkier the better. I love films that just focus on people without a lot of plot, but the writers of the film should bother to say SOMETHING. Not just beg against my patience to suffer through a worthless set of disjointed scenes.Also, I didn't like either of the main characters. I certainly didn't feel compassion for the main character. AT ALL. I thought she was an ex-cheerleader semi-slut adulteress. I didn't feel sorry for her screwball sister, especially when she burnt a customer's house down. I didn't feel sorry for Alan Arkin's "father" character and his dummy get rich quick schemes. I only felt a little sorry for the lead character's son. Of course, he was fatherless because his mother is incapable of making responsible choices. He was termed "a little bastard" in the movie. But don't worry. His mother and aunt informed him that being a little bastard was so awesome and a sure guarantee to an awesome life. All the while, the kid is becoming more of a problem child under the influence of his weirdo aunt and corny, slag mother. The son got kicked out of school for licking a teacher's leg and other completely unacceptable actions. But of course, he was dressed up as the victim. The teachers and the principal were the BAD people for actually wanting his unacceptable behaviors to stop. The mother character blamed everyone EXCEPT the her son who was choosing to do the bad/weird stuff. "It's not your fault that you're doing bad things." And why isn't it his fault that he's doing bad things? Because as Alan Arkin's character tells him, "You're doing these things because you're a genius!" What kind of weird, destructive, criminal breeding parenting is that? Reminded me of all the other loser parents that I have to deal with on a semi-regular basis.The dialogue was also weak. The scene in the bathroom where they were "talking it all out" after the house fire was contrived and not genuine at all. In other scenes, every time there seemed to be the potential for good and interesting dialogue, the director just left it hanging. For example, the scene where the pregnant wife confronts the home-wrecker in the gas station. They started a dialogue...then nothing.Throughout the movie, Adams seemed to specialize in being flustered and overly emotional at all times. She would get nervous and emotional suddenly and would do certain things without a lot of explanation or obvious motivation. It was almost as if she was contriving the importance of her job so that she could brag on it later, such as when she sat with the old widow. I don't know how it could be a comfort to have a neurotic, weepy stranger sitting next to you. But I guess we weren't supposed to think that deeply.There was a small clothed, semi-lesbian scene, for those who are hungry to see such. I didn't care for it. It was gratuitous and also sort of stupid.It also bugged me that the girls were always so desperate to see their mother in her tiny role in a "made for TV movie," but neither one of them was smart enough to actually RECORD the scene ever, or better yet BUY the movie. This isn't the 1970's where we are all desperate to catch a glimpse of a movie that we may or may not ever see again. You can buy any movie on the planet. But I guess we were supposed to forget that for a moment for the sake of the "touching moment" at the end where the girls watch their ordinary looking mother say her line in the movie.Steve Zahn was solid in his small role.Once the movie was over, I just rolled my eyes and put it back in it's case. I'm glad I just borrowed it and did not buy this little shipwrecked film.