Movies

“Sunshine Cleaning” is a woman’s film – and we don’t mean chick flick

Imagine a movie written by a woman, directed by a woman, starring two women, targeted at women.

No, it’s not a stinker. It’s Sunshine Cleaning – and it’s a winner.

As Dorothy Snarker told us last fall Amy Adams and Emily Blunt team up as sisters Rose and Norah who start a crime scene cleaning business together.

Sunshine Cleaning is written by first-time screenwriter Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs. Oh, and Mary Lynn Rajskub plays a lesbian.

I snuck into a sneak preview – OK, I was invited – and, although the promotions have made much of the fact that this movie is “from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine,” the similarities end with Alan Arkin and the word “sunshine.” And Albuquerque. And a cute kid.

Seriously, though, this movie is not sunshiny, and that’s probably why I liked it so much. It’s not depressing, by any means, and much of the humor is of the dark variety.

 

Adams and Blunt have terrific chemistry and, despite their hotness, are completely believable as women who have made some bad decisions along the way and are now just trying to make their lives better.

Rajskub plays reserved lesbian Lynn (we’ll have more about her on the blog next week) who meets Norah at a “cleaning.” The relationship between the two feels unfinished – probably because a good bit of it ended up on the cutting room floor – but one scene that did make it to the movie is worth the price of the ticket. I’ll give you a hint: It has to do with a candy necklace. An edible candy necklace. If that’s not enough to convince you to see it, then what are you doing at AfterEllen.com?

Sunshine Cleaning did really well in limited release last week and will open in major cities this weekend. Look for a wide release next Friday. (And if I haven’t quite convinced you yet, check out Women & Hollywood’s “Why You Should See Sunshine Cleaning.”)

Is Sunshine Cleaning on your list of must-see movies?

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