Sunshine Cleaning

Despite being billed as the next next next next next next next Little Miss Sunshine, Sunshine Cleaning is not. It is entirely enjoyable and the reasons that the comparisons have been drawn are all obvious but it lacks any of the magic, the charm that the former surprised us with.

Amy Adams turns in yet another compelling performance as Rose Lorkowski a single mother who's having the point made that life just ain't fair. In order to raise some extra money so she can send her son to a private school, Rose starts a business with her unreliable (and recently fired) sister Norah (Emily Blunt) cleaning up crime scenes after the bodies have been removed. Her father Joe (played by Alan Arkin) is off chasing his own money making schemes attempting to wheel and deal his way through life.

Easily the greatest strengths of the film are the performances that Adams and Blunt turn in. Arkin has some nice scenes, but simply not enough of them and the result is the lasting impression that he has been underutilised.

The story has been criticised for being too predictable, and it is that, but the bigger failing is in the film's inability to deliver enough sweet in the bitter-sweet genre it attempts to occupy. There are laugh out loud moments, but not enough of them and ultimately the strings begin to show when the closing credits roll to the tune of Spirit in the Sky - a cheap trick to make the audience leave with a smile on their faces.

Pleasant, but unremarkable.

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3 Stars