The producers of “Little Miss Sunshine” have delivered another movie about a family who just can’t seem to get it together. Despite its cheery title, the critically acclaimed “Sunshine Cleaning” is rather grim, and audiences will certainly welcome its few moments of comic relief.

At the film’s outset, single mom Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams, “Doubt”) is working as a maid, trapped in an affair with her now-married high school boyfriend. Her tattooed sister Norah (Emily Blunt, “The Devil Wears Prada”) is clumsy and unmotivated, tormented by their mother’s untimely death.

When Rose’s son Oscar gets in trouble for licking the pencil sharpener (and the teacher) at his public school, Rose decides she will do whatever it takes to get him into to private school.

With no other moneymaking prospects, Rose convinces her sister Norah to join her in starting a biohazard removal and crime scene clean-up business. So they begin cleaning up blood and guts — and raking in the cash. The sisters call their service “Sunshine Cleaning” to put a positive spin on things, says Rose. The two sisters begin to make a name for themselves in the biohazard removal business, until one day when their hard work goes up in flames.

The film’s plot is intriguing and original, and a cast of superb actors give life to its complex characters. Adams’ performance is surprisingly gritty; in “Sunshine Cleaning”, the actress is stripped of the shiny charm she radiates in “Enchanted” and the innocence she portrays in “Doubt.” Her often desperate but always spirited character sports leather, heavy eye makeup and uses her cleavage to her advantage. Adams is still sweet, but she’s got an edge.

Oscar winner Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) plays Joe Lorkowski, the family’s loud-mouthed, curmudgeonly grandfather. An experienced business man in his own head, he unsuccessfully attempts to peddle products that seem to have fallen off the back a truck, calling them “Joe’s Fancy Corn” and “Joe’s Fancy Shrimp.”

At first, “Sunshine Cleaning” somehow manages to make the removal of blood seem comical. The film’s first casualty occurs at a sporting goods store, and witnesses marvel at how far the remains traveled across the store. As the owner grumbles at the $3,000 clean-up bill, one of his employees exclaims, “He’s over here, in fishing!”

Is it tragic? Yes. Disgusting? Certainly. But audiences with a certain sense of humor might be laughing nonetheless.

Also quite comical is Rose’s chipper attitude toward her new business venture, despite her obvious aversion to blood. Many scenes are inherently gross but very funny, like when Norah and Rose get into an argument and Norah accidentally rolls over a blood-and-urine-soaked, maggot-infested mattress. You’ll laugh, and it will seem inappropriate, but maybe that’s the point.

However, as Norah and Rose become more and more invested in the lives of their clients, the energy of the film shifts. It heartbreakingly explores suicide and depicts the characters failures rather than their successes.

Until the very end, “Sunshine Cleaning” revolves around the characters’ shortcomings . It portrays the Lorkowski sisters as damaged goods, trapped in pathetic lives they can’t escape no matter how hard they might try.

The quirky, slightly morbid brand of humor that worked so well in “Little Miss Sunshine” fails to induce the same kind of laughs in “Sunshine Cleaning.” The film desperately wants to be a gritty and offbeat comedy, but it often comes across as sad.

Despite its funny moments and likeable characters, “Sunshine Cleaning” is just as likely to bring on tears as it is to make audiences laugh. Don’t be fooled by the film’s bright and sunny title — “Sunshine Cleaning” is just as much a tale of desperation and frustration as it is comedy.

2 1/2 stars out of 5.