The kids (Mia Wasikowsk and Josh Hutcherson) are all right, but the lesbian couple (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) who raised them isn’t. The Kids Are All Right begins with the premise that kids born from sperm donor would want to contact their father. So far, so good. The kids contact their father (Mark Ruffalo), an owner of a restaurant, and after an awkward period, the kids and the father start to bond. It’s when the kids, their lesbian mothers, and the father meet over dinner that chaos enters their lives. All the relationships swirl around in the turmoil. This movie is being marketed as a comedy. It isn’t. Yes, there are comic moments, but the plot is serious…and conventional. With the strong cast and the novel situation, you would think the writer and director could have come up with a more innovative ending. But, no. This movie ends as most of the audience could have predicted. GRADE: B
In a summer of mindless trash, you need to take your small pleasures where you find them. I guess I liked this more than you did. It’s worth the price of admission just for Annette Bening’s performance. I’m not a Mark Ruffalo fan but I thought he fit the role perfectly and did a good job here.
I agree, Jeff, Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo, as well as the rest of the cast, are outstanding. The fate of Ruffalo’s character concerns me. I wish the screenwriter and director came up with a better solution.
First I heard a whole slew of reviews that proclaimed it the best movie of the year. But yours was the third so-so one this week.
With such a talented cast, I thought the screenwriter and director could do more than produce a conventional relationship movie, Patti. Maybe there’s a political agenda in this movie like: “See, we lesbians are just like any other married couple.”
Patti, I suggest you try it and decide for yourself. It’s definitely way above average in my mind, but YMMV.
(Your Mileage May Vary)
My mileage varied, Jeff. I wanted MORE.
Too bad about the film maker’s failure of imagination. One reason a good finale is memorable is because there are so few of them.
On the other hand, there is considerable pleasure to be had in ogling the lovely Ms. Moore. I’ll probably catch this one on DVD.
Julianne Moore plays the more creative mother in this movie, Drongo. She’s very passionate with Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo. I just object to the conventional role they boxed her into at the movie’s conclusion.
I’m getting more excited about seeing this. Megan liked it a lot which surprised me. She usually only likes dark old movies. But some people who like conventional movies did not. And a lesbian friend hated it.
I’m eager to see your reaction to THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, Patti. If the Annette Bening character had been a male, this movie would have been a cliche.
That last comment sums it up pretty well, George. I liked the acting a lot, they really worked well as a team/family, and some lines here and there were witty and insightful, but it didn’t knock me out. If I had seen it before reading any reviews and before I saw the trailers a dozen time, I might have been more impressed but as it was….a B from me too.
I’m glad we agree, Patti. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT had plenty of potential, but the suits opted for the safe course.
It’s not groundbreaking, as is WINTER’S BONE…it’s not dominated by a single good performance and kinda slack otherwise, as is I AM LOVE…it’s not quite clever bubblegum, as is SALT…so I liked it OK, called it Decent to Patti, and would suggest that letting this kind of picture play out with a lesbian couple at its core is something we haven’t quite seen previously, at least this well-executed. A contrast with UNFAITHFUL isn’t out of line, and that film didn’t even get the mood right, despite having a bravura performance by Diane Lane at its center (I’m not sure she’s been better since, nor that she’d done as well before since A WALK ON THE MOON). So, nothing I’ve seen this summer is close to perfect, but by resisting the attempt to make these characters icons of nobility, the political agenda that might’ve been served wasn’t. I can believe that this isn’t quite the way this scenario would play out in life, but it’s reasonably close and Not too cliched by me. But I wouldn’t give it more than a B plus.
I’ve always considered Diane Lane an underrated actress, Todd. UNFAITHFUL was a much sharper movie with her in it.
I agree that it’s more drama than comedy. Still good.
Most of the movies of Summer 2010 have been pretty weak, Beth. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT are in the top tier of the better films.