Review of The Kids Are All Right (2010) by Mark S — 30 Jan 2013

A complex slice of life film about a modern family of a lesbian couple each parenting a child born from the same sperm donor. Annette Bening is superb as the uptight, controlling doctor. The rest of the main cast is nearly as brilliant:: Mark Ruffalo as the sperm donor, free-spirited farmer, restauranteur; Josh Hutcherson as the 15-year old jock who seeks out his biological father, Mia Wasikowska as the graduating senior, whose imminent departure to college is the underlying tension, and Julianne Moore as the looser, less-successful spouse whose dalliance with the sperm donor erupts in a crisis. Despite the destruction Ruffalo's character causes to the parents' relationship, he helps both kids make positive decisions in growing up.

The dynamics between each of the characters is engaging; families are hard work. Nicely directed and co-written by Lisa Cholodenko, a lesbian, which makes some of the incidents (lesbians watching male gay porn, and the sex with the sperm donor) more believable.