FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Kids Are All Right
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Annette Bening
Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes

What is this? Nic & Jules (Bening & Moore) are two women in a relationship. They have two kids, Joni & Laser (Mia Wasikowska & Josh Hutcherson) via artificial insemination. After Laser becomes curious about who the biological father is of him and his sister, they contact Paul (Ruffalo), their donor, the three of them meet. Soon after, Paul is over for dinner to meet the women who took in his sperm. Paul is now slowly taking a part in the kid’s life, gaining the respect of Jules while still trying to gain acceptance from Nic, the uptight mother who overanalyzes everything. At its core what this really is, is a refreshingly new take on the family dynamic. One that is never touched on, but in this light given a great and interesting approach

What We Think? Nominated for 4 Golden Globes, The Kids Are All Right has been given the critics approval all around. With an ensemble cast, the movie proves itself to be one of the best of 2010. Mark Ruffalo gives one of his finest performances since David Fincher’s Zodiac. This was just the film to put him back into the spotlight. He gives one of the great performances in the picture. Mia Wasikowska comes right out of the Tim Burton film, Alice in Wonderland, working with some of the bigger stars in the business, and rocks her role with ease, blowing almost every performance out of the water. Laurel Canyon director, Lisa Cholodenko takes over directing and writing the script. A film filled with emotion, ironicism and dysfunctionality brings out how normal it actually is to be dysfunctional. A family headed by two lesbian women, in which their flaws are, if anything, more than visible throughout. Moore & Bening, both highlight and star in this film. We all know how great Bening can be, if you haven’t seen her performance in Sam Mendes’ American Beauty, then you haven’t seen acting at it’s finest. Julianne Moore was able to keep up, and if anything, outdo Bening at her own game. The chemistry between the two seeming so real, it’s almost reminiscent of (500) Days of Summer, whose chemistry (between Zooey Deschanel & Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was almost unparalleled. At times I started thinking that the two were actually lesbian.

Our Score: A+, Cholodenko directs and has written a film that is one of our picks for “Best Motion Picture” at the Golden Globes. Amazing performances by a stunning cast set this piece into a whole nother atmosphere. Definitely, a movie to check out whether you agree with the subject matter or not. What this film does it make you care about it’s story while a lot of movies nowadays forget completely that the beauty of a movie it is powerful ability to story tell The Kids Are All Right grabs you into it, and take you on a fascinating story about people who could quite frankly live next door.