Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.

Director:

Christine Jeffs

Writer:

Megan Holley

Stars:

Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amy Adams	...	Rose
Emily Blunt	...	Norah
Alan Arkin	...	Joe
Jason Spevack	...	Oscar
Steve Zahn	...	Mac
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Lynn
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Winston
Eric Christian Olsen	...	Randy
Paul Dooley	...	Sherm
Kevin Chapman	...	Carl
Judith Jones	...	Paula Datzman-Mead
Amy Redford	...	Heather
Christopher Dempsey	...	Gun Shop Suicide
Vic Browder	...	Gun Shop Owner
Ivan Brutsche	...	Above and Beyond Worker

Storyline

A family. Rose and Norah, in Albuquerque, lost their mother when they were young. Rose is responsible - a housecleaner, raising her seven-year-old son Oscar. She's also having an affair with Mac, a married cop, her high-school sweetheart. Norah can't hold a job. Their dad, Joe, is quirky. When Oscar is expelled for odd behavior, Rose wants to earn enough to send him to private school. Mac suggests she clean up after crime scenes, suicides, and deaths that go undiscovered for awhile. Rose enlists Norah, and Sunshine Cleaners is born. Norah bonds with the dead, Rose finds out that it's a regulated business, and complications arise. Can a family marked by tragedy sort things out?

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Plot Keywords:

crime scene cleanup | cb radio | sister sister relationship | bedframe | watching television | 

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Taglines:

life's a messy business.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 April 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cong Ty Lau Chui

Filming Locations:

New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$219,190, 15 March 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$12,062,558, 9 July 2009

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,174,377

Company Credits

Production Co:

Overture Films, Big Beach Films, Back Lot Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eric Christian Olsen filmed several scenes as Norah's boyfriend Randy, and most of them were cut. He only appears in the party scene, where Norah says "he's not my boyfriend" and when he and Norah have sex as she sees a news report about an accident.

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Goofs

When Rose and Norah clean up after a suicide committed by a "Mr. Davis", they enter a room where several rosaries and a crucifix are hanging on the wall, indicating that the couple is Roman Catholic. Since Catholics believe committing suicide irrevocably sends you to hell, it is extremely doubtful that the husband would commit suicide.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Talking Deer Head: Attention all fellow deer. If you find deer feed in the middle of the forest, be a bit suspicious.

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Alternate Versions

Amy Adams brief topless scene has been censored in the US home video releases. Those frames are zoomed in slightly to omit the nudity where as the framing is left intact on releases outside of the US.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Miss March/Race to Witch Mountain/Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

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Soundtracks

Esperanza
Performed by Xocoyotzin Herrera
Written by Daniel Indart and María Amparo Escandón (as M.A. Escandón)
Courtesy of Latin Music Specialists

User Reviews

Working Class Respect

I quite liked the film. I would watch Amy Adams stare at grass and Emily Blunt is always top notch. One thing that stuck out for me about the film was that it offers a look at real working-class people doing real work, and does so in a respectful manner. Rose tries to put a positive spin on her post-mortem cleanup work to gathered yuppies in an awkward social setting and is clearly defensive. But you can see her coming to value the work for the good it does. There is nothing wrong with adventure thrillers about high crimes and misdemeanors, about the far-too-well-to-do, and about easy lives, but it is heartening to see hard-scrabble work valued, not just as a barrier to be overcome but as a thing that has intrinsic value and that does real good. Rose and Nora take on work that the yuppie ladies would never dream of tackling, and do real good for real people. This is a film that does not dazzle us with fireworks or glitter, but it has heart. We like that.