Review of The Kids Are All Right (2010) by Sailoraide — 17 Jan 2011

There is a saying in sports: "that's why they play the game." The same could be said for film because every viewer's opinion is going to be different. That is what makes discussion about movies so engaging. Occasionally, I find myself going against the grain of the majority, and this film is one such example. Thought it has received rave reviews from critics and done well at the awards ceremonies, I was left feeling strangely unsatisfied.

The Kids Are All Right centers around a lesbian couple and their two children, 18 year-old Joni and 15-year old Laser (have you ever met anyone named Laser?). Both children are the product of the same sperm donor whose donation impregnated each of the Moms once. Now that Joni has turned 18, she can legally contact the sperm donor and Laser pushes her into doing so. The film really comes off as a coming-of-age tale. Everyone seems to be growing up and the introduction of Mark Ruffalo's character into the family acts as a sort of catalyst for all kinds of issues to surface. There are some touching moments as the kids get to know their biological "Dad" and develop a relationship with him. Overall, there is more drama than comedy, and I think I would have liked to see a better balance of the two.

The acting is well done. Mark Ruffalo, in particular, is excellent and portrays his character exactly as I would expect a real life sperm donor to act. A little bit surprised, nervous, confused, but curious, and ultimately swept away by the fact that he has helped create these two amazing children (or at least his bodily fluids have). Both the lesbian Moms (Annette Benning and Julianne Moore) are believable in their roles, as well. The story moves at a slower pace than I would have liked, gaining steam as it moves along. Directing is nothing special, in my opinion. I would have liked to see less focus on the lesbian Moms and more on the biological father's relationship with the kids, but I'm mostly splitting hairs.

The problem I have with The Kids Are All Right is that it seems to consider certain family problems as just normal, run of the mill issues. Things like drug use and infidelity are dealt with here, as is teenage sexuality. There were a few sex scenes, most of which I felt were pretty unnecessary and added nothing to the plot. And overall I just wasn't blown away. I found it to be a slightly above average drama with some pretty good acting and an uninspired story.

But as I mentioned in the beginning of this review, my thoughts differ from the vast majority of "experts" and in sports terminology "that's why they play the game." So give it a shot and see what you think. Just don't set your expectations as highly as I did and maybe you'll enjoy it more.