Sunshine Cleaning [Jeffs, 2009]

Sunshine Cleaning

directed by Christine Jeffs

starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt & Alan Arkin

Sundance '08 U.S. Theatrical '09

Not as bad as its detractors infer, nor good enough to be considered a success, Sunshine Cleaning works (somewhat) as a drama about two sisters' search for their identities, but is hindered by poorly written subplots including Alan Arkin phoning in a delusional grandpa (is that really acting..?) and an emotional climax using a set piece that would possibly work in a cute children's film...but this movie opens with a suicide and deals with far too mature subject matter to deserve such a stale a culmination.

Focusing on the good, Amy Adams is quite superb in a role that allows her to break free from the quixotic goodie-two-shoe that she's played in Enchanted and Doubt--she even gets nekkid (sort of)! It's as good a performance she's given since Junebug, and it's essential to the film's engagement of viewers. Clifton Collins Jr. adds a solid performance as a one-armed clerk who is probably the most believable character of all. Emily Blunt gets dealth a considerably weaker hand, and her storyline and climax are less momentous. She's at her best when on screen with Adams, which isn't often enough. The film is a relief in some sense because it's not as quirky as I was expecting, though the child character is by far the most irritating part of the picture, and I don't see any good reason he was given so much plot besides to arrive at the contrived emotional climax I mentioned earlier. 

Jeffs' direction isn't exactly daring, and she seems to aestheticize certain shots as if she's been studying Wes Anderson films. It's not as manipulative of color or as memorable as Little Miss Sunshine, but it's not completely forgettable either. That the film rises above other indie dramedy fare is owed mostly to Adams' fine performance and the script's refusal to shy away from darker subject matter (such as adultery and suicide).

6.0

Observe & Report [Jody Hill, 2009]

Observe & Report

directed by Jody Hill

starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta & Michael Pena

2009

How this film gained the supportive backing of a number of reputable critics, I'll never understand. Maybe it's because this is just about the most awkward, fucking strange film to get a wide release that I can think of? I described the direction of I Love You, Man to be awkward, containing plenty of dialogue that neither moves the plot forward nor garners laughter, but is kind of just there...as the camera lingers awkwardly. Observe & Report takes this kind of direction to the max, except it's rarely funny and seems to be dark for no better reason than to push the limits of mainstream dark comedy.

Glenn Kenny pretty much stole my review of the film (save for the fact that his is more insightful and better written than anything I'd have done), but I'll reiterate that this is a comedy that turns into a character study that turns into an aimless observation of a truly psychotic human being doing a lot of really stupid things. It rips a number of basic plot elements from Taxi Driver (one of my ten favorite films, ever, I might add), e.g. obsessive longing for a girl, a  disillusioned self-important protagonist, but doesn't have anything to say. Anna Faris isn't used to her potential as usual, and the wonderful man behind the camera, Tim Orr, is reduced to making (on-location) shots of the mall look as claustrophobic as possible. 

There's something going around along the lines of "just wait til the last 10 minutes!," but even the moderately shocking/well-shot ending is merely a minor highlight. This is audacious mainstream cinema, too bad its risks are for risks' sake.

4.0