It’s hard not to wonder whether Sunshine Cleaning acquired the “Sunshine” in its title after Alan Arkin was cast as the eccentric but somehow-wise grandfather, or if there was a deliberate effort to pick up some of Little Miss Sunshine’s afterglow from the beginning. While the comparisons are inescapable, Sunshine Cleaning stands on its own merits. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt play sisters struggling to find their place while their father (Arkin) pursues get-rich-quick schemes. Rose (Adams), has a young son who regularly gets into trouble at school, a job as a maid, and a dead-end affair with her former high school boyfriend. And she’s the successful sister. When Norah loses her job at a diner and Rose needs more money, they stumble together into the business of cleaning up crime scenes. Apparently that pays much better than cleaning up houses (there are, after all, some serious issues to deal with in disposing of the kinds of things one finds at crime scenes).
The movie, directed by Christine Jeffs, takes advantage of the opportunities for humor with this career move, but Megan Holley’s screenplay is more interested in exploring the relationship between Rose and Norah and their history than it is in exploiting gimmicks for easy laughs. The acting is entirely convincing, and the story itself has a more gritty and messy realism than its little miss cousin. Not surprisingly then, the ending, like life, is neither tidy nor entirely satisfying. But it’s certainly worth going along for the ride, and beats the alternative.