Film: The Kids Are All Right
Cast includes: Julianne Moore (The Hours), Annette Bening (Being Julia), Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count on Me), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), Josh Hutcherson (Journey to the Center of the Earth) Yaya DaCosta (Ugly Betty)
Director: Lisa Cholodenko (High Art)
Genre: Comedy/Drama (2010)
In brief: Joni just graduated from high school, and all her best friend talks about is sex. Laser is 15, and his best friend is headed for trouble… trying to take Laser along for the ride. The kids are at that age when they’re breaking away from their parents… just like all kids everywhere. Their parents, however, are both moms… “as in lesbians,” Jules and Nic. Other than that, family life looks pretty normal as we watch them around the dinner table… a bit of normal family tension, just like most families. Lately Laser has become curious about their father… the sperm donor… and the kids have figured out how to get in touch with him. All they really want is to meet him once and see what he’s like.
An uncomfortable first meeting… the sperm donor plus the two kids… turns into an uncomfortable “family” dinner… the sperm donor, the two kids plus the two moms. As it turns out, the sperm donor, Paul, is rather charming… in a self-absorbed-ladies-man-motorcycle-riding kind of way. And try as they may, the moms can’t quite manage to extricate Paul from the family circle. The kids enjoy spending time with him, and Jules actually agrees to do a landscaping project for Paul. Nic is the only one who is truly committed to keeping her distance. But Paul just might be becoming a permanent fixture in their lives… or maybe not.
Paul is unmarried, unattached and uncommitted. Nic and Jules have been in a committed relationship for a long time, and the normal strains of being in a long-term relationship are beginning to show. There are the aggravating habits that get on each other’s nerves, and the unresolved conflicts that never quite seem to go away. At times of added stress, such as teenagers trying to break free from parental oversight, the tensions can bubble over. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t a committed couple… it just means they’re a normal couple. Paul hasn’t quite figured that out. Paul has started to figure out that he wants more out of life than a series of uncommitted relationships, but the learning curve on relationships is steep. And Paul has a lot to learn. So too do Nic and Jules, but they’re not starting from scratch.
The Kids Are All Right has an excellent script, and the performances are first rate. With one part drama, three parts comedy and a pinch of social commentary, it’s a lot of fun. It’s one of a handful of films on gay relationships, that has mass-market appeal. It says something about families and relationships that could be said about any family and any committed, long-term relationship.
4 popped kernels
3 popped kernels for a well-made funny movie. 1 popped kernel for the social significance.
Popcorn Profile
Rated: R
Primary Audience: Young adults
Gender Appeal: Any audience
Distribution: Mainstream wide release
Mood: Upbeat
Tempo: Cruses comfortably
Visual Style: Nicely varnished realism
Character Development:Engaging
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Timely topic
