3/20/09

Sunshine Cleaning

It's amazing what lengths a mother will go to so she can send her bright little boy to a private school! Amy Adams ("Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," and "Enchanted") is that mother. Saddled with a father, played by Alan Arkin ("Little Miss Sunshine" and "Get Smart"), who never lacks for get-rich-quick schemes, and a ne'er-do-well sister, played by Emily Blunt ("The Jane Austen Book Club" and "Dan in Real Life"), who can't seem to hold a regular job, she is frantic, but determined. Both sisters are thrust into this latest act of desperation: cleaning up crime scenes after the police complete their investigations.

Amy is the sparkplug for this dynamic duo, while Emily is the unreliable scold. We watch Amy learn the ins and outs of this messy sort of cleaning: the chemicals, the training, the licensing, the environmental issues and coping with the odors. On the other hand, Emily is more concerned with the human side of each tragedy and the folks who are left behind.

Steve Zahn ("Happy, Texas" and "Riding in Cars With Boys") is Amy's (married) lover, a police detective who complains about the exorbitant price the current cleaners charge for this specialty. She thinks, "How hard can it be?"

Brace yourself...