Spring Break
Movie Review - Sunshine Cleaning : Same old 'Sunshine' here
Corey Light
Issue date: 4/13/09 Section: Culture
After an enormous buildup to the must-see movie of the year, "Sunshine Cleaning" left audiences weeping in glee.
Well, not quite.
"Sunshine Cleaning" didn't have quite the audience as say, "Fast & Furious," which has thus far raked in $70 million at the box office.
"Sunshine Cleaning" sits at a cool $4 million. It's disappointing to say, but I can surely see why.
The film stars a cast who are all inevitably typecast in utterly boring roles: Amy Adams as the struggling single parent, Emily Blunt as the pseudo-punk rebellious hippie-drunk, Alan Arkin as an eccentric grandfather and Steve Zahn as a goodie-goodie cop.
The plot revolves around Rose (Adams) and her struggles to raise her son, keep her sister Norah (Blunt) out of trouble and her father (Arkin) sane. On top of that, she awkwardly manages a continued high school affair with Mac (Zahn).
Let me be frank here - this movie is boring. It's a snooze-fest.
Sure, I had a few laughs here and there, and who doesn't like a cute little kid prancing on screen committing creative little crimes?
Honestly though, this film is an hour-and-a-half long. That's barely enough time to set up your characters, let alone urge me to care about them.
The whole thing plays out like a déja-vu that you would rather skip out on. Exactly why, you ask?
I would guess the director must have seen a few movies beforehand and said, "Hey, I could make some money repackaging established character roles. If only I had Alan Arkin."
Suddenly, Arkin calls Director Christine Jeffs in the middle of the night - drunk and nostalgic.
"Hey Christine, it's Alan. I heard through the grapevine you are making a movie. Hey Christine. Hey. I think I've got another 'Little Miss Sunshine' in me. Hey."
Now, I know everyone at UMKC is a huge Arkin fan. And who wouldn't be? With such hits as "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," "The Return of Captain Invincible" plus random spots on "Sesame Street."
But at some point in "Sunshine Cleaning" (most likely in the first 10 minutes), you'll realize that Arkin's been-there-done-that character is directly ripped from … wait for it … "Little Miss Sunshine".
Golly gee, Arkin plays in "Little Miss Sunshine," Amy Adams plays in "Junebug," Emily Blunt plays in "Jane Austen Book Club" and Steve Zahn plays his uncredited role as Spence in episode 5,303 of "All My Children".
The Kansas City Star's Robert Butler had this positive review about "Sunshine Cleaning:" "The movie around them has problems, but Amy Adams and Blunt put on a first-class acting workshop."
A word of advice: If the movie around you has problems, leave.
clight@unews.com
Well, not quite.
"Sunshine Cleaning" didn't have quite the audience as say, "Fast & Furious," which has thus far raked in $70 million at the box office.
"Sunshine Cleaning" sits at a cool $4 million. It's disappointing to say, but I can surely see why.
The film stars a cast who are all inevitably typecast in utterly boring roles: Amy Adams as the struggling single parent, Emily Blunt as the pseudo-punk rebellious hippie-drunk, Alan Arkin as an eccentric grandfather and Steve Zahn as a goodie-goodie cop.
The plot revolves around Rose (Adams) and her struggles to raise her son, keep her sister Norah (Blunt) out of trouble and her father (Arkin) sane. On top of that, she awkwardly manages a continued high school affair with Mac (Zahn).
Let me be frank here - this movie is boring. It's a snooze-fest.
Sure, I had a few laughs here and there, and who doesn't like a cute little kid prancing on screen committing creative little crimes?
Honestly though, this film is an hour-and-a-half long. That's barely enough time to set up your characters, let alone urge me to care about them.
The whole thing plays out like a déja-vu that you would rather skip out on. Exactly why, you ask?
I would guess the director must have seen a few movies beforehand and said, "Hey, I could make some money repackaging established character roles. If only I had Alan Arkin."
Suddenly, Arkin calls Director Christine Jeffs in the middle of the night - drunk and nostalgic.
"Hey Christine, it's Alan. I heard through the grapevine you are making a movie. Hey Christine. Hey. I think I've got another 'Little Miss Sunshine' in me. Hey."
Now, I know everyone at UMKC is a huge Arkin fan. And who wouldn't be? With such hits as "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," "The Return of Captain Invincible" plus random spots on "Sesame Street."
But at some point in "Sunshine Cleaning" (most likely in the first 10 minutes), you'll realize that Arkin's been-there-done-that character is directly ripped from … wait for it … "Little Miss Sunshine".
Golly gee, Arkin plays in "Little Miss Sunshine," Amy Adams plays in "Junebug," Emily Blunt plays in "Jane Austen Book Club" and Steve Zahn plays his uncredited role as Spence in episode 5,303 of "All My Children".
The Kansas City Star's Robert Butler had this positive review about "Sunshine Cleaning:" "The movie around them has problems, but Amy Adams and Blunt put on a first-class acting workshop."
A word of advice: If the movie around you has problems, leave.
clight@unews.com
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