I will repeat what I said before; what is the deal with Amy Adams? I don’t get it that she is all over the place, pretty much playing the same role over and over. In Sunshine Cleaning, she is a sweet, well-meaning girl who is not making ends meet and not having the life everyone thought she would when she was a popular cheerleader in high school. Here she is a single mom, with a married boyfriend, barely making a living as a maid. Her kid has some behavior problems in school and they suggest she put him somewhere that can deal with him, i.e. private school she cannot afford. The married boyfriend who is a cop suggests that maybe she could make more money cleaning up after dead people – some homicides, a suicide or two and lots of people who died at home. And so she starts her Sunshine Cleaning business and hires her deadbeat sister to help her.
I would say rent this if you are a big Amy Adams fan, or if you are needing to feel like your life is at least better than some other people’s. Just once, I would like to see Amy Adams get mad or bitchy. I don’t think she can. And to me that makes roles like this somewhat beyond her. You want to see something affect that sunny demeanor and nothing does, even when her sister nearly destroys the company. Maybe it isn’t her fault; could be the contrived script or the new director, but I really don’t care who is at fault. The rest of the cast, especially Emily Blunt as the sister, are very good. I put this in the skip it pile.