Proving eccentricity is the glue of any family, Emily Blunt and Amy Adams star in the quirky comedy Sunshine Cleaning, the story of two sisters who reconnect by starting a crime-scene clean-up business together.

A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat comedy. The film is directed by Christine Jeffs (Rain, Sylvia), penned by Megan Holley and explores how an average family finds a way to make their dreams come true in a rather unconventional way.

The film originally appeared at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and includes Academy Award nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted), Oscar winner Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada). Also starring is Steve Zahn (Happy, Texas), Clifton Collins, Jr. (Capote), Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) and Jason Spevack (Hollywoodland).

Adams plays Rose Lorkowski, a former the high school cheerleading captain – who dated the quarterback – and now finds herself a thirty-something single mother working as a maid. Her sister Norah, played by Blunt, is still living at home with their dad Joe (Alan Arkin), a salesman with a lifelong history of unsuccessful get rich quick schemes.

Desperate to get her son into a better school, Rose persuades Norah to go into the crime scene clean-up business with her to make some quick cash. In no time, the girls are up to their elbows in murders, suicides and other ”awkward” situations. Their unusual job brings them closer together as neither one of them could have expected. Rose and Norah discover new challenges which teach the sisters to be there for one another – no matter what – and bridges the gap in their relationship once and for all.

Adams was one of his first choices for the role, says producer Jeb Brody. “Amy is one of those actors who comes up with something different every take,” he observes. “She’s incredibly exciting to watch because it’s rare to see somebody who can move you in so many ways. She has the right mixture of ex-cheerleader and real depth. That depth hasn’t really been tapped very often, and this is her opportunity to show it.”

Exploring the Lorkowski family dynamic is what first attracted Adams to the film. “I thought Christine (Jeffs) had such a great perspective on sisters,” she says. “We ended up having this whole conversation about sister relationships, which was something I enjoyed examining. I also really could identify with wanting to be more than you are, in a different place than you were born into, to sort of elevate your status in the world. That's something I think a lot of people identify with.” 

Working with actors whose previous roles she knows and admires was a bonus for Adams. “I was also really looking forward to working with an actress who is a peer,” she says about Blunt. “When I found out it was Emily, I was completely intimidated. I knew I was really going to have to step up."

“She's become my partner in crime – or in crime cleanup, as it were,” Adams laughs. “When you're playing sisters, it’s really important to pick up on each other's rhythms. And it feels just so natural to be working with Emily. I can see her as one of my sisters.” 

Adams and Blunt were virtually inseparable during production, says Jeffs. “They totally supported each other and were like dynamite together. They just had fantastic chemistry – it was an exciting combination.”

Blunt was fascinated by Norah’s free-spirited attitude, as well as the sense of loss she discovered in the character. “She has a lot of questions that have never been answered and everything has sort of been swept under the carpet in her family,” observes the actress. “Because she has unanswered questions about her past, she’s fascinated by other people’s backgrounds.

“There aren’t a lot of scripts like this that come along,” says Blunt. “I read everything and this was the best thing I’d read in a really long time.”

The producers never considered anyone else for the role of Adams and Blunt's father, after the producers had previously worked with Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). “Anytime we can get him in a movie, we're going to cast him,” says producer Marc Turtletaub.

The actress says she and co-star Blunt were both in awe of Arkin. “Emily and I kind of stalked Alan. We have so much respect for him that all we could do was smile at him with big eyes. I think he was a little creeped out by us, but he managed.” 

When casting the character of Mac, Rose’s former high school boyfriend and currently married lover, the producers wanted to make sure they had an actor who could really connect with Adams. Zahn is best known for his broad comedic roles, but this was a chance for him to show his dramatic acting skills.

Zahn acknowledges he might not be the most obvious choice for the role. “If they had a list of Macs, I'll guarantee you I was not on that list,” says Zahn. “But I got the part, and I was really happy to get [it]. It is truly one of the best scripts I've read in a long, long time. It's unique and funny, and it just has so much depth to it. Usually I look at the characters first and try to think, ‘Hey, is this something I want to do?  Is this a character I want to play?’  But for me this was, ‘I want to be in this movie. I'll do either one of the guy parts. I don't care.’”

Adams said Zahn’s ease with the material made her relax during some of the film’s more intimate scenes. “Our very first scene working together, we were both pretty much naked,” she says. “That could've been really uncomfortable, but he had no sense of vanity and that really made me comfortable. At one point we were discussing real estate. They'd say, ‘Action,’ and we'd do a little bit. And then he'd say, ‘No, really. You should invest in acreage.’ And then it's right back to it.”

—Jessica Delli Santi