Sunshine Cleaning

Rose (Amy Adams) is a former star cheerleader whose adult life never took off in the way she wanted. Needing to earn enough money to send her son to private school, she joins forces with Norah (Emily Blunt), her undependable sister, and starts up an unusual business as a bio-hazard crime scene cleaner. If Sunshine Cleaning is to succeed, the pair must learn to get along.

Peter Bradshaw, the Guardian: If I were the producer of the hit 2006 indie-comedy Little Miss Sunshine and I wanted to repeat its success in a second film as efficiently as possible, I think I might include the word "sunshine" in the title, cast Alan Arkin once again as the lovable grandpa-grump, sprinkle in some of the same funky family dysfunction and centre it around another weird contemporary phenomenon. Oh, and get a cute kid in there, too. (Verdict: two stars out of five)

Wendy Ide, the Times: From the beginning, the difference between the sisters is clear. Norah scuffs her sneakers like a reluctant teenager, her face set in a disgusted 'ew!' But the perky, professional Rose is more empathetic, aware that it is somebody's dreams and the memories of their first kiss that are splattered all over the wall along with their brains... Adams and Blunt are a sparky pairing, both perhaps a little too gorgeous to convince as the romantic no-hopers they are meant to be, but wholly persuasive as sisters carrying the scars of their own family tragedy. (Verdict: three stars out of five)

David Jenkins, Time Out: Try if you can to avoid the inevitable salvo of assurances that Sunshine Cleaning is this year's Little Miss Sunshine, Juno. Sure, it has the usual Sundance/US indie baggage - sibling rivalry, unfeasibly precocious/adorable child actor, Alan Arkin essaying the loveably eccentric side to senility... again - but this is actually superior to both those films. (Verdict: three stars out of five) ·