Review of The Kids Are All Right (2010) by Paul F — 23 Jul 2011

The Kid Are All Right is the indie family drama about two lesbian mothers whose two children bring their sperm donor into their everyday life. Julianne Moore and Amnette Bening play the two lesbian mothers; Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska play their two children; Mark Ruffalo plays their self-satisfied sperm donor. Overall, this is a very likeable ensemble and is one of the best acted films to come out in a long time. Nothing fancy here, just people playing real and raw characters. The witty and touching script is by Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko. Lisa Cholodenko also directs the film.

This is a very small and personal film. It preaches the importance of family first and also shows the direct effects of overparenting on kids in today's society. It's funny, charming, and heartbreaking, and one of the most realistic family dramas i've seen in a long time. It masterfully shows the vicious range of emotions that can be felt when dealing with family life. One moment your laughing, and the other you're crying, and that's exactly what this film is. It's funny one minute, and the other minute it's heartbreaking. This film definitely was much better than I had expected. I found myself fully engaged in these characters and I really cared about them. The acting was just so top notch that I felt like I was watching a real family and their issues. The entire cast worked seamlessy together, but the best performance came from Anette Bening. It's a tour-de-force performance that, if not for Portman's delirious Nina in Black Swan, it would have netted her an Oscar. She is the emotional anchor of the film and the family.

This is an extremely witty film, I give tons of props to the two screenwriters on a fantastic script. In one memorable sequence, the two mothers falsely accuse their son of being gay and the build-up in the dialogue during the sequence had me in tears. The entire film is full of whip-smart dialogue and references. The only thing I didn't really like about the film is the lack of general direction. Once the sperm donor gets in the kid's life, the film doesn't really know what to do with itself. It tends to ignore the kid's relationships with him and focuses more on the mother's relationships with him (One is screwing him, the other hates him). I really wished that they had focused more on the kids. Mia and Josh were both amazing in this film when given screentime but during the second half their characters were almost written out of the film. Although the ending is technically rushed, the final scene in the film is touching reminder that family is first, no matter what happens in life... they will always be there for you.

The Kids Are All Right is a small, touching, and funny family drama featuring a truly top notch cast at their best.