Release Date: 7/9/2010 (Limited)
The Kids Are All Right, directed by Lisa Cholodenko (Laurel Canyon) and written by Cholodenko and Stuart Bloomberg (The Girl Next Door), is a unique family dramedy that is carried by its phenomenal ensemble cast. The performances of this film are one of the reasons why it is so great. Each character puts in some of the most genuine acting that I’ve seen in a long time, and some credit has to be given to the director who pulls out some of the finest performances from some of the best actors in the business. The Kids Are All Right should go down as a critically acclaimed success and one of the best movies of the year, definitely one of the best I’ve seen so far.
Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Josh Hutcherson (Journey to the Center of the Earth) play Joni and Laser, the two children at the center of this story. Their mothers, Jules played by Julianne Moore and Nic played by Annette Bening, are lesbians who were each artificially inseminated with sperm from the same donor. Joni who is going away to college soon, and Laser who only has one friend who is kind of a tool, are interested in meeting up with their donor daddy Paul played by Mark Ruffalo. Paul is a hipster college dropout, who was never married, owns a restaurant and rides a motorcycle. The kids are very interested in Paul and when he gets involved in their life it tests Nic and Jules relationship to the limit.
It’s hard to say who had the best performance in this film because every character works so well together. It’s also kind of hard to say who is the lead and who is supporting, but I must say this has to be the immediate front-runner for the SAG ensemble cast award. Mark Ruffalo continues to climb the ladder in the industry as one of the finest working actors and will someday be nominated for his work; maybe this will be the one that gets it for him. With his early stellar performance in Shutter Island and now with this, he really has had an amazing year. He plays the cool laid-back donor daddy in this and I kind of wanted to hang out with him by the end of the movie. Bening and Moore work so well together as the lesbian couple, they are funny and get extremely emotional and it was like one of these actresses were trying to top the other in every scene they were in. Both should be in the running as lead actresses. I was surprised at how much screen time the kids in this movie actually get. I guess I should have figured since the title of the film is “The Kids Are All Right” but I was pleasantly surprised because Mia Wasikowska was fantastic as the confused teenage Joni. She has some emotional scenes with her “Moms” and she hangs in there with these veteran actresses. Hutcherson who you can’t even say is the weak link because he was also solid, but definitely the rest of the cast outshines him. He plays the 15-year-old sensitive brother who his parents think is gay. The ensemble as a whole was just extraordinary.
The director Lisa Choldenko kind of comes out of nowhere with this nice little independent dramedy that should go down as the Little Miss Sunshine or Juno of the year. She did a bang up job with the cast but credit should also go to her and Bloomberg who developed such a realistic and moving script. The dialogue never seemed forced every line that these actors delivered seemed so real and that makes it easy to get lost in the story. Nowadays it is very hard to write comedy without being over the top or raunchy, or to write drama without being sappy or unrealistic, but the screenwriting team succeeded with this unconventional family dramedy that makes you laugh out loud and possibly shed some tears. If there is any negative about the screenplay it’s just that I wasn’t all that happy with the way things go in the third act, particularly with one character, but other then that small little detail I enjoyed everything about it. I applaud the writing and hope to see this get a nomination for best original screenplay in the near future.
The Kids Are All Right isn’t just an acting showcase for major Hollywood stars, it is also an entertaining, moving, and funny portrayal of a modern day family that everyone should be able to relate to in some way. The filmmakers nailed it, and they get the message across without slapping you in the face with it. Go see this film and you’re sure to appreciate it, while coming out of the theater feeling good.
Right On! IT’S MADE!!!
IMDB: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Moviewiseguys: 8.5/10
