Review of The Kids Are All Right (2010) by Hanneguacamole — 08 Jun 2015

The Kids are All Right. They really are. I think I connected with Joni a lot on a few topics because I'm practically the same age as she is right now. It takes place in her last summer at home, which I'm fast approaching. With only 6 more days of school until graduation I totally relate to the whole moving away aspect. The whole tone of the movie was set in the opening scenes, with Laser asking Joni to call their sperm donor. I thought this conversation was very awkward and out of place but I also think that was a feeling that was meant to be there as really the whole feeling of the movie was intentionally awkward and uncomfortable.

Laser and Joni's mothers are Nic and Jules. We almost see a role or personality reversal as the plot continues throughout. Nic starts as the overbearing parent that that's in charge of Jules's suffering and of the children's, but our feelings completely swap when Jules acts on her emotion and has an affair with Paul, the sperm donor. I almost saw a parallel between Laser's friend Clay and Jules and how they were seen as screw-ups or bad influences by others. In their own ways they both really did screw up.

This movie was billed as a comedy which I totally saw in an Alexander Payne everything-is-so horrible-that-it's-funny kind of way. I think my favorite quotes overall were provided by Laser: "Why do you guys watch so much gay man porn?" and *gasps* "Did you guys think I was gay?" He seems to help along the narrative of the story for the audience.

When Paul enters this family's life, he seems pretty alone. He's been **** this one girl, but they're not really together and he soon leaves her as soon as he gets together with Jules. We do get a sense of the accidental nature of Paul and Jules's relationship. I felt embarrassed for her when she kissed him the first time and then embarrassed again when he tries desperately to make what they had into a real thing because he is truly so alone.

As soon as Nic started to open herself up to Paul is when their lives pretty much go to hell. They bond over Joni's name and the singer that started it all, but soon after the walls come crashing down as Jules seems uncomfortable and the truth about the cheating comes out. There was quite some foreshadowing in the scene where someone says they're so glad this sperm donor deal worked out because they've heard of so many horror stories, but really this is as much of a horror story as any. It starts off like a fairy-tale, their relationship pretty much perfect–too perfect–and then it takes a complete 180° turn. Paul really does ruin them just as they suspected he would.

When the truth comes out to the children, both Nic and Jules try to put a band-aid on the wound but end up really feeling bad and again resorting to the overbearing parenting style to compensate. They're really and truly screwed up as a whole, but Joni is leaving for college. At the end of the day they're still a family. I could completely feel what Joni was feeling as she ran out to make sure her family didn't leave her without saying goodbye. I think one of the most intriguing aspects of this movie is the fact that there are so many roles for people to relate to depending on who they are. There are the moms–and so many aspects to them. Each role is deeply complex and has relatable yet comedic/dramatic parts that make it just fitting for the big screen. Even if their lives are **** and **** up, they're all they have. Their family is it. They love each other the most even though they hurt each other the most.