Sunshine Cleaning

A movie review by The Movie Snob

Sunshine Cleaning (C+). I think this movie is from the same producers who brought you Little Miss Sunshine -- it even stars Alan Arkin, like Little Miss Sunshine did. But despite the efforts at sunniness by the two female leads, this is a pretty grim story. Amy Adams (Junebug) stars as Rose, a single mother who is burdened by a low-paying job working for a maid service, a pathetic affair with a married man (Steve Zahn, That Thing You Do!), and a little boy who's getting into trouble at school. Her lover suggests she could make more money running a crime-scene clean-up service, and she drafts her ne'er-do-well sister to help her (Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada). And we learn more stuff about their background that's also very dark. It's not a bad movie, but it somehow comes off a little contrived or forced or something.