Review of The Kids Are All Right (2010) by Ian H — 14 Aug 2011

The kids are alright; it's the parents who have issues here! For the first time, we have the depiction of a same-sex couple and family that doesn't feel pigeon-holed for its 'gayness.' This is a marriage that manifests the same kinds of challenges that a heterosexual couple's would over time.

Mates who know each other only too well, each other's weaknesses, gifts, and aspirations, who both only want the best for their children and for them to explore their own identities. How fragile the domestic life can be when a monkey wrench is thrown into it, in this case the kids' sperm donor who comes into their lives at their request and disturbs that which was once established.

Annette Bening has always impressed me as a mature, refined actress who has an elegance you can tell comes from great intelligence and skill. She has a part many ingenues would shy away from here, but she sinks her teeth into it by making her lesbian doctor/mom/spouse more than a demographic, but an individual who is soulful, vulnerable, and intense.

Mark Ruffalo is reliable as the donor who's kind of a doofus, but one that intrigues and wish you knew more about (the film's one plot point that could have been built on more). Kudos to Julianne Moore as well as the conflicted lesbian partner who crosses more than a few lines on her garden path.

A well-written reflection on what family values look like in a family that is unorthodox yet warm and supportive.