Amy Adams Fear Factor
In his annual Sundance-is-about-to-begin article, L.A. Times critic Kenneth Turan said yesterday that Christine Jeff's Sunshine Cleaning, which will have its first festival screening tomorrow (i.e., Friday) night at the Racquet Club, features "a vibrant performance by Amy Adams that not even the work she's done in Enchanted and Junebug prepares you for."
Amy Adams in Sunshine Cleaning
In other words, he's seen it. And in other words, one gathers, Adams is playing another open-hearted emotional innocent facing each day with a plucky smile, determined to see and respond to only the good in people, and just charming the pants off everyone with her middle-American radiance and belief in half-full glasses of water. If her Sunshine Cleaning character is different than this, great. But Turan has put the fear of God in.
You know what I mean. Adams delivers the kind of schtick -- a barrage of inner glow, positivism, hopefulness -- that would cause the Cloverfield monster to turn tail and run away screaming. It sure as hell gives me the willies, I can tell you.
I don't like women who always seem to be taking "happiness pills" any more than I like people who are glum all the time. I've seen this kind of personality emanate in real life from girly-girls and conservative-minded country-music music performers and red-state Christian wives and girlfriends, and it creeps me out. I want to grab them and say, "Do you ever have an emotion that isn't 'happy' or 'positive'? What are you so fucking afraid of?"
But most people have found Adams' spirited-ness appealing, and since playing a wholly positive-minded pregnant wife in Junebug producers, as I hear it, have been offering her similar parts to based on a confidence that she will deliver that schtick in spades. All to say that I'm approaching Sunshine Cleaning, as I'm sure many others are, with a certain apprehension. If my fears prove unfounded, terrific, but you know how this goes.
From the Sundance program: "Expertly conceived and executed by New Zealand native Christine Jeffs, Sunshine Cleaning is fueled by the enormous appeal of Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as two sisters who, in their effort to escape the malaise and general shabbiness of their day-to-day existence, undertake a very specialized business: cleaning up the blood and body parts at various crime scenes and suicide sites."
How can you not be relentlessly upbeat and buoyant when you're cleaning up bloody crime scenes all day long? If you don't the miserable after-vibe of murder and mayhem could infect your soul, and you can't let this happen. See where this is going?
Sunshine Cleaning will also play early Sunday afternoon at the Eccles, and will have a press screening late Monday morning at the Holiday Village.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 17, 2008 at 4:48 AM
comment #1
Joe M.
says ...
Well, at least Adams' optimistic perkiness was mixed with a little Washington D.C. cynicism in "Charlie Wilson's War", and mixed with admiring horniness for her boss in "Talledega Nights".
Posted by Joe M.
at January 17, 2008 5:50 AM
comment #2
gruver1
says ...
Adams was okay in "Charlie Wilson's War," but it wasn't much of a part. "Talledega Nights" is another variation on a theme. Why is she always playing heartland honeys?
Posted by gruver1
at January 17, 2008 6:02 AM
comment #3
Pablo Villaca
says ...
She's sexy as hell in "Talladega Nights", indeed.
Posted by Pablo Villaca
at January 17, 2008 6:04 AM
comment #4
AJW
says ...
Hotter than Pam Beesly and Karen Filippelli.
Posted by AJW
at January 17, 2008 6:26 AM
comment #5
Breedlove
says ...
She still gets a pass from me because she's so damn cute. I've got a buddy who's working in post on 'Doubt,' maybe that will be a departutre for her. I saw the play and I can't even remember if that character was perky and cheerful or not. I'm afraid she might have been, actually.
Posted by Breedlove
at January 17, 2008 6:30 AM
comment #6
p.Vice
says ...
I'm still waiting for her to play a prostitute. Right up her alley.
Posted by p.Vice
at January 17, 2008 6:34 AM
comment #7
Unison
says ...
Emily Blunt is the real talent in this film, imo. She's always superb and has far more depth than Adams has shown.
Posted by Unison
at January 17, 2008 6:48 AM
comment #8
MAGGA
says ...
p.vice, your post was way funnier than I think you intended it to be. Anyway, she was great in Catch Me If You Can, as everyone in the film were.
Posted by MAGGA
at January 17, 2008 6:52 AM
comment #9
Lipstik Music
says ...
Wells, I found your comments about the shaking of people and the inquiring into their state of fear/happiness quite entertaining. Enjoy the snow you curmudgeon.
Posted by Lipstik Music
at January 17, 2008 6:56 AM
comment #10
actionman
says ...
Emily Blunt was so fucking hot in Charlie Wilson's War. Just wanted to throw that out there.
As far as Amy Adams goes, her performances in Junebug and Enchanted, were, for me, totally perfect. If she makes a habit out of playing cheerful, happy women, much like De Niro has made a habit out of playing brooding, dark men, I will be fine with that. I'm sure that at some point Adams will flex her range and do something we haven't seen. But she's yet to even hit her acting stride fully...it's just now that after a few years she's getting more roles and becoming more of a mainstream fixture. Only time will tell I guess. But I love what she's doing now, and for me, that's all that matters. I really did fall in movie-love with her in Enchanted.
Posted by actionman
at January 17, 2008 7:21 AM
comment #11
actionman
says ...
and yes, MAGGA, she's awesome in Catch Me If You Can. Just watched it a few weeks ago for the first time in a while. Love all that milky light streaming in through the windows! Joking aside, what a great script, filled with great dialogue and breathless pacing. Walken was perfect. Hanks in one his subtlest performances, filled with unexpected humor. And DiCaprio looked the part better than anyone could, doing some captivating work. Lots of hotties in that film as well.
Posted by actionman
at January 17, 2008 7:26 AM
comment #12
D.Z.
says ...
So is this like a sequel to Waitress or something?
Posted by D.Z.
at January 17, 2008 7:30 AM
comment #13
RT
says ...
Jeff, come off it. Seen Enchanted? Adams does a lot more work in that film than about any actress in anything this year, period. And it isn't all just happy pills either. You can count on one hand the young actresses today (though she isn't that young) who have any kind of real comic ability (hence the death of the American romantic comedy) and even fewer who can mix that with pathos like Adams does. She's got tons of energy and imagination in Enchanted, and I can't think of another actress who could have played the hell out of that role as she does. It's a really inspired performance where she plays a lot of notes--go to Rotten Tomatoes and take a read, will you?
Posted by RT
at January 17, 2008 8:00 AM
comment #14
Rob
says ...
Gee, Jeff, you're extrapolating an awful lot from Turan's use of the word "vibrant."
Posted by Rob
at January 17, 2008 8:04 AM
comment #15
Joel
says ...
I want to grab them and say, "Do you ever have an emotion that isn't 'happy'? What are you so fucking afraid of?"
There's someone like that in the office across from mine. Any time you say anything negative, she has to respond with a perky "It will work out" comment. Drives me nuts.
Posted by Joel
at January 17, 2008 8:04 AM
comment #16
MAGGA
says ...
We are all fucked
Posted by MAGGA
at January 17, 2008 8:27 AM
comment #17
Deschain
says ...
Hmmm... speaking of Amy Adams... what happened to the OSCAR BUZZ (hate that word) of "Enchanted"?
Anybody? Bueller?
Posted by Deschain
at January 17, 2008 9:06 AM
comment #18
gruver1
says ...
Amy Adams' "Enchanted" Oscar buzz failed to materialize when everyone realized, as I did right away, that her performance, however likable and engaging, was essentially her basic patented "happy super-positive girl" schtick trotted out again.
Posted by gruver1
at January 17, 2008 9:17 AM
comment #19
Gaydos
says ...
aside from sunshine, here's variety's list of titles with a pulse at sundance:
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=features&id=2472&articleid=VR1117979190
Posted by Gaydos
at January 17, 2008 11:07 AM
comment #20
Craig Kennedy
says ...
With the exception of Enchanted, which sucked, I think you're missing the boat on the Amy Adams characters I've seen Jeff. To me, they're interesting because there is a darkness, a weakness, a vulnerability bubbling underneath the postive girl facade. Especially in Junebug. If she was just the drone you see, I'd agree with you 100%, but she's not.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at January 17, 2008 11:14 AM
comment #21
Walter Sobchak
says ...
I liked "Charlie Wilson's War", but even if I didn't I'd see it again just for Emily Blunt's (yes, Emily Blunt) nekid scene. Oh....My.....Lord. That girl's loaded for bear.
So, we're hating on Amy Adams now? Backlash so soon? We'll see what the future holds, but so far I love that gal and the parts she's played. Maybe one-dimensional-ish, but she's damned good at that dimension.
Huh huh. You know what would be cool? If that Cloverfield monster drank her milkshake. Classic!
Obama '08!
Posted by Walter Sobchak
at January 17, 2008 11:15 AM
comment #22
KevinTC
says ...
"You know what would be cool? If that Cloverfield monster drank her milkshake. Classic!"
That made me laugh. Thank you
Posted by KevinTC
at January 17, 2008 11:39 AM
comment #23
alan
says ...
Amy Adams' Oscar buzz for Enchanted hasn't faded. Quieted down a little, yes, but she still stands a good chance of being nominated on Tuesday morning. The locked-in nominees are Christie, Cotillard, and Page, with the two remaining spots going to Jolie, Adams, Blanchett, Knightley, or Linney. Jolie is looking very likely, but if you consider the general reception to the films starring Blanchett and Knightley, that leaves one opening that will probably go to either Adams or Linney. Guess which one of those two performances more people saw and were charmed/given sniffles by?
Posted by alan
at January 17, 2008 12:28 PM
comment #24
BurmaShave
says ...
Only a very shallow observer of acting could think her performance in JUNEBUG is actually peppy, rather than someone pretending to be peppy. You keep picking more and more outlandish people to be bothered by, Wells.
Posted by BurmaShave
at January 17, 2008 12:33 PM
comment #25
ROTC
says ...
I may be the only person here who has actually seen Sunshine Cleaning, and IMO it sucks. It's a fairly lifeless (no pun intended), standard indie Little Miss Sunshine wannabe, right down to Alan Arkin playing yet another of his late-career dysfunctional grandfather roles. Amy Adams is fine as the most "responsible" member of the clan, but she and Emily Blunt are utterly unbelievable as sisters. They don't look the slightest bit alike, and it seems like they were randomly hooked up from some casting director's up-and-coming B-list Rolodex.
I saw the movie a couple of months ago at a test screening in Culver City, and it just plain died. At the screening's post-mortem Q&A, a few audience members tried to be kind ("I thought they tried really hard") but the consensus was that the film is a stiff. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it goes straight to DVD.
Posted by ROTC
at January 17, 2008 1:11 PM
comment #26
ROTC
says ...
BTW, Jeff, you're totally wrong about the kind of performance Adams delivers in the movie. Her character is not at all the kind of upbeat "open-hearted emotional innocent" Pollyanna you have prejudged her to be. Quite the opposite, she is playing nothing more than a pretty exhausted, dejected, ordinary working woman who can't get a break.
I think that degree of ordinariness is what Turan was getting at when he said audiences are unaccustomed to seeing Adams in this kind of role. The problem for her and the film is that, ultimately, there is nothing about either that is the least bit extra-ordinary.
Posted by ROTC
at January 17, 2008 1:33 PM
comment #27
Walter Sobchak
says ...
BurmaShave.... you're dead-on there. Good point.
Posted by Walter Sobchak
at January 17, 2008 1:42 PM
comment #28
RT
says ...
"Amy Adams' "Enchanted" Oscar buzz failed to materialize when everyone realized, as I did right away, that her performance, however likable and engaging, was essentially her basic patented "happy super-positive girl" schtick trotted out again."
It's hardly failed to materialize as you say given that she got a Globe nod and the Oscar noms haven't even been announced. But let's just put the nail in her coffin by starting some bad buzz.
Posted by RT
at January 17, 2008 1:43 PM
comment #29
RT
says ...
And who exactly is this "everyone" that realized this about her Enchanted performance. Seen nothing but raves on this end.
Posted by RT
at January 17, 2008 1:46 PM
comment #30
RT
says ...
And who exactly is this "everyone" that realized this about her Enchanted performance? Seen nothing but raves on this end. Can't find a soul who thought it was shtick.
Posted by RT
at January 17, 2008 1:47 PM
comment #31
J. Huff
says ...
I'd much rather be friends with Amy Adams than you, Jeff. No insult intended, I just prefer perk to snark.
Posted by J. Huff
at January 17, 2008 2:20 PM
comment #32
Craig Kennedy
says ...
Burma thanks for making my point only better and with less words.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at January 17, 2008 3:56 PM
comment #33
thatmovieguy
says ...
If you ever have the good fortune to meet Amy Adams in person, you'll see she's for real. She came in for the CATCH ME IF YOU CAN junket in New York when nobody knew who she was. She walked into a room full of tired reporters who had already talked to Christopher Walken, Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and were just about to head out to lunch. But she instantly won everyone over with her honesty and humor. When she left the room 20 minutes later, all the guys heaved a collective sigh. Absolutely magnetic personality and she is not all positivity: She can tell some stories. One of my favorite interview subjects and a terrific actress. Can't wait to see her play opposite Meryl in DOUBT.
Posted by thatmovieguy
at January 17, 2008 8:08 PM
comment #34
Gaydos
says ...
Man, this is a TOUGH room! And all this time I thought Amy Adams in "Enchanted" was one of the two "Star is Born" moments of 2007, the other being Marion Cottilard in the Piaf film. Both pics are okay, but these two actresses set them both on fire, in very different ways but with the same result: ARRIVAL.
Posted by Gaydos
at January 18, 2008 11:44 AM