Staff PickSunshine Cleaning is a greatly enjoyable indie dramedy with a good cast and a unique plot. Amy Adams plays Rose, former cheerleading captain and now a single mom. She is still carrying on with her ex- high school boyfriend Mac, a football hero played surprisingly well by the unlikely Steve Zahn. Rose’s sister is Norah (Emily Blount). She is scattered and a little unstable, but an oftentimes caring and imaginative babysitter for Rose’s 8-year old son, Oscar.  Rounding off the family unit is the sisters’ dad Joe, a role handled quite well by Alan Arkin. It might be mentioned here, though, that Arkin’s grandpa role bore some striking similarities to his Academy Award winning role of grandpa in Little Miss Sunshine (same producers for both films), and I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t see a more different spin.

But back to the plot: Rose needs money, and Mac tells her of an opportunity to make good money cleaning up crime scenes. She and Norah partner in this endeavor and as the film unfolds, there is the discovery of meaning in other people’s losses, and the working through of their own losses. Along the way they meet two finely developed characters. One is a woman who works in a blood donor clinic (Mary Lynn Rajskub), and the other is the owner of a supply store, Winston (subtle and yet exquisitely detailed acting from Clifton Collins Jr.). All the actors make excellent contributions to this movie. Jason Spevack is particularly awesome as Oscar. I loved Amy Adams in Junebug, but her acting was a little over-the-top. Here she nails her role with a rich and nuanced performance. Same for Emily Blount.

So that’s Sunshine Cleaning. You should see it. The humor is at times dark, and the darkness is not always humorous, but I’m definitely adding Sunshine Cleaning to my favorites of 2009. The Special Features include a couple of real-life crime scene cleanup workers giving us the skinny on the profession. – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 8/25/09

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