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 | |
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Judith Jones | ... | Paula Datzman-Mead |
Amy Redford | ... | Heather | |
Christopher Dempsey | ... | Gun Shop Suicide | |
Vic Browder | ... | Gun Shop Owner | |
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Ivan Brutsche | ... | Above and Beyond Worker |
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? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
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.