Movie Review: “Sunshine Cleaning”
Rating: 73
Just as the title implies, “Sunshine Cleaning” is about disinfecting a mess, whether it’s a crime scene or a life filled with mistakes. Someone has to do the dirty job that Rose and Norah Lorkowski take on, and redemption could be found in all those gallons of industrial disinfectant.
Rose (Amy Adams) was captain of the cheerleading team in high school, but that was her high point. About 15 years later, she is cleaning houses for a living and continuing a long-standing and fruitless affair with her high school boyfriend Mac (Steve Zahn). Every day, Rose repeats affirmations in a search for elusive self-esteem, but cannot break free of being the cutest, sweetest doormat in Albuquerque.
Like Rose but without the obvious charm, Norah (Emily Blunt) is just a stoned mess who cannot hold down even the worst fast-food job. The Lorkowski sisters and their father Joe (Alan Arkin) all got damaged individually by a family tragedy, leaving each with a life on the margins and the possibility that Rose’s smart-but-troubled son Oscar (Jason Spevack) is on the same path.
But then after one of their depressing motel trysts, Mac, a homicide detective, suggests that Rose could make a lot of money cleaning up after his cases. She wheedles her way into a crime scene with the recently fired Norah in tow, and they start mopping up blood. Of course they’re not certified for this line of work, but the forms and tests can wait.
If the plot of Christine Jeffs’ film seems stitched together from several independent movie tropes, the characters and actors help “Sunshine Cleaning” transcend those ideas. Adams and Blunt are convincing as siblings who ultimately find some meaning in their lives through mopping up viscera — after all, there were once real people in these blood-stained rooms. While Rose and Norah’s makeshift operation is far from perfect, dealing in mortality could supply some kind of breakthrough for both sisters.
Like “Wendy and Lucy,” also opening in Oklahoma City this week, “Sunshine Cleaning” depicts people barely operating at subsistence level. It’s not where anyone wants to be, but so many people end up there, either by accident or the ugly nature of the economy. These characters resonate as people grapple with their own tough times, whether it’s due to recession or their own difficulties in breaking out of spirals.
Movie Review: “Wendy and Lucy”
Rating: 76
For the working poor, safety nets are not part of the equation — the dominoes start falling hard if just one unexpected expense pops up. Kelly Reichardt’s simple and affecting drama “Wendy and Lucy,” which begins a two-week engagement at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, illustrates this true, day-to-day nightmare, and Michelle Williams makes it seem far more real than most people would care to experience up close.
Wendy Carroll (Williams) does not have many options. While driving with her dog Lucy from Indiana to Alaska, where she plans to find work at a fish cannery, Wendy doesn’t stop at hotels: she finds quiet parking lots and sleeps behind the wheel, hoping no one will tell her to move along. No such luck in Oregon — awakened by a security guard, Wendy soon discovers that her ancient Honda Accord will not start and it will cost money she doesn’t have to get it towed and fixed.
A desperate act in a grocery store (and a run-in with a self-righteous employee) results in Wendy’s arrest, a fine and Lucy’s disappearance. Now facing destitution without her best friend, Wendy spirals into depression as her expenses multiply and her options are subtracted. No one, including family back home, has much means or inclination to help Wendy, and the transition from nomadic worker to homelessness becomes a short fall. Even finding a lost dog costs money.
Wendy is a character with no remarkable characteristics other than being average. She hasn’t fallen on hard times — for Wendy, all times are hard and getting harder. And there might be a way forward, but it will not be a smooth road and any momentum will come with great sacrifice.
Not everything is spelled out, but Williams fills her character with the kind of quiet desperation that tells a life story, one in which all the good breaks went to people with more money, talent, brains, ingenuity, connections or physical beauty. “Wendy and Lucy” does not present us with a pitiful character, but with the worst-case scenario — one that more and more people are facing today.
Music Review: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, S/T (Slumberland)
Rating: 83
An alternative to the alternative raged on the East Coast and in the U.K. in the early ’90s while the zeitgeist was trained on Seattle, with bands such as Velocity Girl and the Field Mice taking a more innocent, less jaded approach in both music and lyrics. Brooklyn’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart sounds like the next generation of these bands, and its self-titled debut is pure, noisy sweetness for fuzz-pop fans.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart often wallows in woozy arrangements — a drum-free wall of distortion dominates the opening track, “Contender,” and on “Come Saturday,” the band plays with atonal pitch shifting reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine’s “Isn’t Anything.” But the group can also forego the big noise entirely on jangly confections such as “Stay Alive” and the perfect-pop single “Everything With You,” where the dreamy vocals of Kip Berman and Peggy Wang reign supreme.
All this reverence for alt-pop joys from a generation ago is by design — the disc is even mixed by former Velocity Girl leader Archie Moore and resides on that band’s old label, Slumberland, so there is no mistaking the group’s intent. But this is clearly a case where a great sound needed to be revived, and whether The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is bouncing along in a reverie (“A Teenager in Love”) or cloaking itself in a drone (the closing “Gentle Sons”) it all sounds timeless now.
DVD Review: “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Rating: 80
Whether he is exploring Gilbert and Sullivan’s creation of “The Mikado” or following a World War II-era abortion provider, Mike Leigh packs his films with wonderful improvisational actors. The result is a bracing realism once the improvised dialogue is honed to a loose script, and this is especially true of “Happy-Go-Lucky,” a funny and poignant character study of a woman who always looks on the bright side of life.
Sally Hawkins should have been recognized with an Oscar nomination for Poppy, a grade school teacher with an endless capacity for good vibes. While Poppy seems sealed in a bubble of cheer, the rest of the world is less sunny. When Scott (Eddie Marsan), the bilious counterpoint to her positivity, becomes her driving instructor, Poppy doesn’t quite know what to make of this human wave of anger, but even Scott’s hate storm cannot obscure Poppy’s sunshine.
Leigh’s naturalistic style is well-suited to following Poppy’s good times, whether it’s uproarious evenings at the pub or mornings at school, caring for a troubled student and hitting it off with a school psychologist. Some subplots are just loose ends, but the dramatic centerpiece is the hilarious and unsettling relationship between Poppy and Scott. Hopefully, “Happy-Go-Lucky” will not be the last time Leigh puts Hawkins and Marsan together — their characters’ chemistry is strictly oil and water, but the actors mix it up beautifully.
Video of the Day: Ida Maria, “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked”
I Like You So Much Better When Youre Naked
Either it’s a language barrier or just Scandinavian directness, but Ida Maria Sivertsen does not put her words through any sort of mincing. Like I just did.
Nerdage and Staticblog Get “Lost”
In what is likely to become a regular headache for Nerdage and Staticblog readers, Matthew Price and George Lang will spend the rest of this season and all of the next and final season discussing episodic plot points for our favorite head-scratcher of a weekly mystery. We’re not explaining anything for you apostate types who prefer to watch “Project Runway” or read books. It’s a sweeps stunt, blogosphere style, kind of like when “Hello Larry” had the crossover episodes with “Diff’rent Strokes,” but now Matt and George are fighting over who’s McLean Stevenson and who’s Gary Coleman.
Sawyer’s beard coming back.
Nerdage: Since Jack and crew returned to the island, Sawyer is looking more like Sawyer and less like LaFleur.
Staticblog: Kate just brings out the beard in him. Makes him all hairy and man-musky, instead of looking, ’77 stylee, like he’s ready to sit in with America on a lovely rendition of “Ventura Highway.”
Kate and Juliet
Nerdage: Maybe they should just rock-paper-scissors?
Staticblog: Yeah, except that in Juliet’s case, it would be suture scissors. Rock-paper-scissors would be one option, but Kate’s handy with guns and rigging explosives, and Juliet, as a medical professional, probably knows how to make Kate’s death look like an accident — at least to your average or below-average Dharmanians. Juliet basically has squatter’s rights (in the “possession is 9/10ths of the law” sense, perv) on this one, but Kate’s psychology is structured toward deviancy — she can get what she wants. Plus, Kate’s a good tracker, so Juliet can’t just run away. Kate has the upper hand.
What happens to the timeline?
Nerdage: Does Sayid’s action change the timeline, or was this what was always supposed to happen? Is Ben dead in the future? Given the fact that the island brings back those it’s “not done with,” could Ben return? Could Ben be saved by Jack, since the island now has a surgeon?
Staticblog: I personally hope that Lindelof and Cuse are killing off Ben, not because he’s not a sparkling personality or a good guy, but because it messes with Space-Time Continuum(tm) and paradoxes. Sure, Ben could be saved by Jack, but we’ve been there before. I want to see the world twist because Ben Linus isn’t around making googly eyes at us.
Why are the castaways in 1977, anyway?
Nerdage: My original theory was that they were there to prevent the slaying of the Dharma Initiative. Then, I wondered if they were there to redeem Ben. I don’t know if either theory got more credence with last night’s episode.
Staticblog: I don’t know if Ben’s redemption is what anyone is looking for — I think your original theory holds water. It certainly isn’t for the 13-percent interest rates of the “stagflation” era.
Callbacks
Nerdage: Sayid being tortured while Sawyer watches recalls Sayid’s torture of Sawyer in season 1.
Staticblog: But what’s missing is 12-year-old Ben Linus pushing up his bangs to reveal that he is, in fact, The Boy Who Lived, and that Sayid’s got nothing on Tom Riddle.
Why the crap
Nerdage: Didn’t Sayid just go along with Sawyer’s plan? Why didn’t Sawyer just come out and make up some story about what Sayid told him?
Staticblog: It’s basic lack of trust, and Sayid’s not the kind of guy to go along with something unless massive torture, or Zuleikha Robinson in knee-high boots, or both, is involved.
“Monsters vs. Aliens”: Hubba, Hubba
Now, that's what I call statuesque
Every so often I find it cleansing to make a creepy admission. And so here’s my latest.
I saw Monsters vs. Aliens and have to admit its central character, Susan Murphy, (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is, well, pretty darn sexy. Once a mysterious meteorite transforms her into a 50-feet bride, Monsters dials up the 3-D pulchritude with Susan as a ginormous platinum blonde in a form-fitting wedding dress.
Betty Boop would be proud.
– Chase
Random 10 For March 26, 2009
Georgie James - Need Your Needs
1. Georgie James, “Need Your Needs.” You know, a little commitment would be nice. Georgie James came out with this great song and a strong alt-pop disc, Places, then promptly broke up. So, I supposed it’s on to the Laura Burhenn solo career, yes?
2. Stereolab, “Parsec.”
3. M.I.A., “Mango Pickle Down River.”
4. Cramps, “Human Fly.” When Lux Interior died last month, the initial report was that it was from a “pre-existing heart condition,” but apparently the cause was something called aortic dissection, which is a sudden tear resulting in massive blood loss. Absolutely terrible and scary. Eat your leafy greens, kids. Exercise. Stay in school, don’t do drugs.
5. She & Him, “Got Me.”
6. Public Enemy, “By the Time I Get to Arizona.”
7. Wale, “The Kramer.”
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Dragon Queen.”
9. Rick Shapiro, “Suburban Butts.”
Glasvegas - "Flowers & Football Tops"
10. Glasvegas, “Flowers and Football Tops.” When I first heard of Glasvegas’ interest in exploring ’50s doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll as a starting point or key ingredient for its Brit-pop, I couldn’t have been less interested — been there, done that far too many times. This is different: Glasvegas songs have the same DNA, but the animal has evolved. Speaking of DNA, James Allan makes me wonder what Joe Strummer was doing in Scotland around January 1979. “Daddy’s Gone,” indeed.
Video of the Day: Lady Sovereign, “So Human”
The “Biggest Midget in the Game” samples the Cure in this first single from Jigsaw.
Real Former CNN Anchor Now Delivers Fake News
Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport
Old people reading this blog surely remember Bobbie Battista, one of the original anchors at CNN, who was a mainstay at the network for 20 years until Ted Turner sold the shop to Time-Warner. While it’s occasionally hard to tell if CNN is actual news these days (particularly when tuning into Headline News or watching Kiran Chetry on “American Morning”), Battista is doing them one better by now anchoring the Onion News Network.
And what’s completely awesome about this report on Franz Kafka International Airport is that Battista delivers it with the utmost in deadpan seriousness.
