For smarter audiences… SUNSHINE CLEANING

Cast wildly — like  a drunk, epileptic fisherman suffering a petit mal — and your film will struggle no matter the strength of the screenplay. Cast wisely, and not only will you save face, the faces will save your movie regardless of the story’s merits. Megan Holley, didn’t need help, she wrote a solid script for SUNSHINE CLEANING, but its tonal switches would prove a significant challenge for many actors. Obviously, director Christine Jeffs accepts the old adage that picking your players is 90% of the job and populated the dramedy with a sterling supporting roster, including Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Clifton Collins Jr., comfortable and confident blending the broadly humorous with the sincerely soulful. Of course, their yeoman efforts would be irrelevant without the guidance of the indie’s winning leads, Emily Blunt and Amy Adams. The two make more believable sisters on-screen than Meg and Jennifer Tilly do off-screen. And, it is their palpable bond that illuminates the darker corners of the flick’s conceits. Yes, the down-on-their-luck duo do assume the roles of crime-scene sanitizers, quick-picker-uppers of blood, bile and brain matter splattered from headboards to toe shoes. Yes, they do have their own unfortunate, familial history of loss. Yes, one’s an unwed mother who still consorts with her baby papa as the other can’t escape listless liaisons with local losers.

     In A.O. Scott‘s idiotic review in the New York Times, he derides SUNSHINE CLEANING for its damning similarities to the critically-approved LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Alarmed, he points out that the movies share a title word, a setting a supporting actor and a family unit at its core. Wow. Conveniently, he neglects to consider New Mexico’s incentive packages that make shooting in state so appealing to indie auteurs, the ease with which Mr. Arkin assays immodest nutcases — though, like snowflakes, no two characters alike — and the fact that in America, relative dysfunction is as commonplace as, well, normalcy. By Mr. Scott’s clever logic, I suppose the legacy of CHINATOWN discounts the value of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, too. They are both period-piece, police procedurals in Los Angeles, both with scores by Oscar®-winner Jerry Goldsmith. That must not be A.O.-kay, right? Surely, Curtis Hanson cribbed from Robert Towne…

     It is true that maintaining a sense of freshness is difficult as a critic, but that is the job. Movies like SUNSHINE CLEANING make it easier and more enjoyable. It is surprising, funny and vital. If you like to cherry-pick coincidences, skip it. If you like to be entertained, buy a ticket today.