Critic Watch: Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning tells the story of two sisters, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, who have failed in life and are struggling to get back on their feet. They sign up for a job that involves cleaning of crimes scenes like murder, which seems almost ridiculous. When we go to see this movie, one would expect to see the growing comedic relationship between the two sisters. But could what we actually see unfold on screen be different?


The highest rating given to this movie was an 80 out of 100. Stina Chyn of Film Threat focuses on the relationship that develops between the two sister main characters and the relationships between the sisters and the grieving families. It seems to be a movie about learning to understand themselves and understanding others. It is a journey of self reflection that could get audiences to rethink about their own lives.

Dana Stevens of Slate gave the movie a 70 out of 100. She comments on the fact that even though the two stars are not in any way related to each other, their acting makes the audience that they really are siblings. It is with this kind of acting ability that makes the audience watch the screen at all times so as to not miss a moment. Even though movies like this have been made before, like Little Miss Sunshine, the movie is so well made that it doesn't matter that they may be similar.

Ty Burr from the Boston Globe gave he movie a 63 out of 100 immediately pointing out that Sunshine Cleaning is very similar to Little Miss Sunshine. They are so similar to the point that the names are almost same. Despite having a light-hearted name, the movie is far from it. Burr also comments on the two sisters saying that their characters were well played and can be compared to other sibling type movies such as The Savages. Although all the actors play their roles well, Burr says that there are times when their acting seems to be out of place and could have been better.

From the Village Voice, Robert Wilonsky gave the movie a 50 out of 100. The movie is nothing new from a typical Hollywood movie. It tries too hard o be little Little Miss Sunshine when they cast Alan Arkin for the role of the grandpa. His review is short and doesn't really have anything good to say about it. Overall, the movie could have been made better if there was a little more effort put into it.

Dan Zak of the Washington Post gave the film a 40 out of 100. The only good thing about the movie was the two sisters. How says that although their acting was believable, their story goes nowhere and it becomes boring quickly. Not much else is said about the other actors in the movie. If it were not for Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, the movie would not have done as well as it did.

Overall, there are some mixed feelings for this particular movie. The only thing all the critics could agree on was the acting of the sisters, Adams and Blunt. Depending on the person, the similarities between Little Miss Sunshine and Sunshine Cleaning could either be a annoyance or indifference.