LIKE many filmgoers, I would probably pay to see rising stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt read from the phone book, not to mention cleaning up the bloody aftermath of crime scenes and of elderly people who die alone.
In Christine Jeffs’ quirky indie dramedy “Sunshine Cleaning,” these actresses play a pair of underachieving Albuquerque sisters who are forced, by economic necessity, into this remunerative if disgusting line of work.
Adams’ Rose is the more responsible of the two sisters, an aspiring real estate agent whose more conventional cleaning work has dried up (even though the film was made well before the bubble burst).
When flakier sister Norah (Blunt), whose social skills are practically non-existent, gets dismissed from her latest job as a waitress, Rose’s married-cop boyfriend (Steve Zahn) suggests they go to work mopping up after deceased people when the bodies are taken away.
The perky Rose is more gung-ho about the gig than the comically appalled Norah.
But it offers an opportunity for the sisters to begin coming to terms with their mother’s long-ago, never-discussed suicide. Tellingly, the suicide took place in the same house that the unmarried Norah shares with her son Oscar (Jason Spevack) and her father.
The latter is well played by Alan Arkin, even if he is essentially reprising his “Little Miss Sunshine” role (the two films share some producers, a Southwestern setting and part of the title). Joe is determined to pass on to his grandson his none-too-savvy sales skills.
The narrative meanders a bit, but there are some choice scenes. Director Jeffs, a New Zealander, nails American class differences at a bridal shower where Rose uncomfortably tries to explain her new gig to more well-to-do high school classmates.
The hard-partying Norah has a ruefully funny, sensitively handled subplot in which she befriends a lonely lesbian (Mary Lynn Rajskub of “24”) whom she tracked down via her late mother’s belongings.
“Sunshine Cleaning” labored under the burden of unfavorable comparisons to “Little Miss Sunshine” when it premiered at Sundance last year. But on its own, this bittersweet comedy is a fine showcase for a pair of distinctive and appealing talents.